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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28136403">It's Not Christmas Without You</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/writerlady/pseuds/writerlady'>writerlady</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Bunk'd, Jessie (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Christmas, Christmas Fluff, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Romance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 15:07:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>50,722</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28136403</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/writerlady/pseuds/writerlady</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Christmas-themed unrelated oneshots for the pairing Lou and Ravi. Uses Season 1 and Season 2 characters. Mostly AUs.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lou Hockhauser &amp; Ravi Ross, Lou Hockhauser/Ravi Ross, Xander McCormick/Emma Ross</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Snow Day</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rare weather events in Maine by definition didn’t happen often. But that day in August, Camp Kikiwaka was covered in snow. Ecstatic campers ran wildly in the fluffy fields of snow behind the cabins. Lou and Ravi were admiring a snowman they had built beside a pine tree. The snowman had large button eyes from Lou’s sewing kit and a carrot nose from the camp kitchen.</p><p>Ravi unwrapped his scarf from around his neck and handed it to Lou. Her fingers brushed against his hand and even though he was wearing gloves her touch warmed his heart. He watched her delicately wrap the scarf around the snowman.</p><p>“There! All done,” Lou declared as she smiled at their chunky snowman. She took a step back and nodded. “The scarf really works on him.”</p><p>Ravi chuckled. Light snowflakes flitted down from the pine tree and danced around Lou. Ravi’s eyes shined with admiration for the young woman in front of him. He stepped closer to the snowman and barely wrapped his arm around the figure, careful not to snap off the twig arms.</p><p>“What was that Mr. Snowman?” Ravi asked. He leaned his ear close to the line of pebbles that formed the snowman’s smile.  “Uh huh... I see…” He leaned away and quickly turned his head to face the snowman with feigned shock. “You think Lou should go out with me?”</p><p>Lou rolled her eyes, but her heartbeat sped up the way it always did when Ravi was around. She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him. She said, “Do you, Mr. Snowman? Cause like I’ve told Ravi before, it’s better if he and I stay friends.” She added with emphasis, “Only friends.”</p><p>Ravi removed his arm from the snowman. He leaned closer to its pebble smile again, but this time he cupped his hand around his ear. He nodded as if the snowman had spoken before he stood straight and frowned. “He says you’re being unreasonable.”</p><p>Lou uncrossed her arms and clenched her fists at her sides. “Am not! And what’s unreasonable about not wanting to complicate our friendship?”</p><p>Ravi held up his hands and gave her an innocent look. He argued, “I didn’t say anything!” He pointed at the snowman. “He’s the one on your case.”</p><p>Lou narrowed her eyes at Ravi and then shifted her gaze to the snowman. “Fine. Mr. Snowman, what do you think is unreasonable about not complicating my friendship with Ravi?”</p><p>“He says you’re not even giving Ravi a chance.”</p><p>“You didn’t even lean in and pretend he was talking to you that time,” Lou said as she unclenched her fists. She took off her hat and gently placed it on top of the snowman’s head.</p><p>“I know what he’s thinking,” Ravi replied. He removed his own hat and placed it on Lou’s head before she could argue. “First, he thinks you’ll be cold without a proper hat.”</p><p>“Thanks,” she murmured as she adjusted the hat on her head. It was warm and snug. She watched snowflakes gather in his hair. “Here,” she said as she flipped the hood of his jacket over his head. “Mr. Snowman wouldn’t want you to be cold either…”</p><p>She could feel the sparks between them, so she turned away to fix the snowman’s crooked nose. </p><p>Ravi fixed his gaze on the snowman and said quietly, “Mr. Snowman thinks that maybe… you like Ravi? And so, you should go out with him...”</p><p>Lou froze and it wasn’t from the cold weather. She refused to look at him, so she kept her focus on the snowman’s button eyes. </p><p>Ravi nervously shuffled on his feet, kicking up small puffs of snow. “So, what do you say?” Ravi asked. “Are you going to listen to our friend here?”</p><p>Her silence was amplified by the blanket of snow and stillness that covered the part of the forest they were in. Even though he could hear the faint sounds of campers sledding and running around in a field in the distance, it felt like they were a world away.</p><p>“No,” Lou said sternly before turning away.<br/>
________________________________________<br/>
 <br/>
Lou didn’t stop walking until she reached the Spot. The old truck that was abandoned near the campfire pit was covered in snow. She was surprised there weren’t any couples there. The only sign of life were the footprints left by someone’s rain boots. Lou sighed and fell backward into the snow. The white powder crunched beneath her as she stared up at the grey sky.</p><p>It wasn’t long before she heard footsteps in the snow. There was a soft sound as the person fell into the snow beside her.</p><p>“We’re making snow angels,” she instructed. </p><p>She heard the sound of him waving his arms to make wings. She smiled and did the same. Birds chirped in the treetops above as they waved their arms and legs in the snow.</p><p>“Lou,” Ravi spoke up, breaking their silence. “You… you do like me, right?”</p><p>She continued moving her arms through the snow to make her angel’s wings. Her face felt warm as she thought about just how much she liked the guy beside her. Without turning to face him, she knew that he was close enough that within a few inches she could reach out and hold his hand in her own.</p><p>“I’ve been wrong about matters of the heart in the past,” Ravi continued. He stopped waving his arms and turned to face her. Though the snowy ground blocked part of his view, he could see enough of her face to make his heart ache. “But everyone has assured me that you...well, that you like me… Do you?”</p><p>Lou brought her arms to her sides as she ceased making her snow angel. She turned to face him as they both lay in the snow. To her, his eyes looked warmer in the snow. She muttered, “Yes. I like you.”</p><p>Ravi propped himself up on his elbow to hear her better. “I’m sorry. What was that?”</p><p>Lou scrambled up from the snowy ground and shakily stood. She shouted, “Yes! I like you! Okay!” </p><p>“You do!” Ravi cheered. He clumsily stood from the ground. He would’ve fallen back down if Lou hadn’t caught him by the elbows. He held tight to her arms and beamed at her. “This is fantastic! Will you go on a picnic with me?” He glanced around the snow covering the Spot. “Ideally when it’s not snowing. I doubt this weather is recurring in late summer.”</p><p>“Are you crazy? No!” Lou huffed as she let go of his arms and swiftly stepped back from him.<br/>
The motion threw Ravi off balance and he fell into the snow. Lou almost reached out to help him up, but changed her mind at the last second and walked away.<br/>
________________________________________<br/>
 <br/>
Within an hour, a huge snowball fight had broken out at camp. It had all started when a counselor from Badger cabin chucked at snowball at Hazel. She declared war and soon no one was safe from the snowy chaos. Woodchuck cabin and Grizzly cabin had decided to team up, but that eventually led to Emma and Xander hiding in the toolshed, Tiffany and Zuri pummeling campers from a tree they had climbed, Jorge screaming while running wildly as Griff blocked them both with an old trash can lid, and Lou pitching snowballs like they were baseballs.</p><p>She dodged a snowball being launched at her by a CIT from Bobcat cabin. Quickly, she chucked a ball of snow back at her opponent and watched it hit. With a shout of glee, she raced toward the kayak rack. She was surprised and happy to find Ravi there hiding.</p><p>“There you are,” she said between breaths as she crouched behind the kayak rack. “I haven’t seen you since our cabins teamed up. I was worried about you.”</p><p>“Sure you were,” Ravi said flatly as he crossed his arms and stuck his nose in the air. </p><p>“Oh, don’t be that way,” Lou said as she peeked around the rack, on the lookout for more Bobcats or Weasels.</p><p>“How am I supposed to be, Lou?” Ravi said in an exasperated tone that got her attention. She stopped looking around the rack and faced him. He continued, “You repeatedly reject me without any reason. It’d be one thing if you said that you don’t like me, but you say you do like me. It’s very confusing.”</p><p>“I’m confused, too!” Lou huffed. She would have angrily shouted at him some more but from the corner of her eye she saw a snowball flying right for them. “Watch out!” she gasped as she pushed them both out of the way.</p><p>Her back hit the fluffy snow. She tilted her head back to see their attacker run off. She exhaled, shut her eyes, and relaxed her chin forward. “That was a close one,” she sighed.</p><p>“Yeah, but you may have dislocated my shoulder,” Ravi complained.</p><p>Lou finally realized that he was practically on top of her and that her hands were still tightly around his arms. She let go of him and stammered out an apology. He propped his elbows in the snow but other than that he didn’t move. His breath was warm on her face and it sent her heart racing. </p><p>He searched her face for any sign of annoyance or anger but found none. His stomach filled with butterflies as he saw the look on her face. She was staring at him like he was the sharpest chainsaw in the town store or the greatest book in the library.</p><p>“You have really pretty eyes,” he said in a breathless tone as his gaze held hers. In his mesmerized state he leaned forward to kiss her, but her words halted him from doing so.</p><p>“This is gonna end badly,” she whispered.</p><p>He leaned away from her with concern in his eyes. He asked, “Why?”</p><p>“For starters, I’m older than you,” Lou answered honestly. She wondered what kind of toothpaste he used to make his breath so minty. Her eyes flickered to his lips but she quickly shifted her gaze back to his eyes.</p><p>Ravi rolled his eyes and said, “By two years, Lou. And it’s not like you haven’t dated older guys before. What’s the difference?”</p><p>“True...I guess I hadn’t thought of that.” Not that she was able to think much with his gorgeous eyelashes catching snowflakes as he gazed at her. “Um… well… Dang it! I know there’s another reason… Oh! It’s Emma! Emma’s my best friend and she’s your sister. That would make things weird!”</p><p>“Who cares about Emma?” Ravi exclaimed. Lou gave him a look and he sighed. “I mean, yes, we all love Emma. But so? Xander’s my best friend and practically your brother. That didn’t stop them from kicking me out of the toolshed earlier so that they could smooch! Which was totally unfair because I was hiding there first!”</p><p>Lou giggled. It made the annoyed expression on Ravi’s face melt away. His shoulder really did hurt from her pushing him out of the snowball’s way, but he didn’t think it was as painful as his desire to kiss her. </p><p>“We’re so different, Ravi. I’m a country gal. You’re a city guy. I’ve tamed a wild horse. You ran away from the kids in Bunny cabin cause they were chasing you with safety scissors.”</p><p>He smiled at her and said, “And you rescued me from those little monsters.”</p><p>His smile was contagious and Lou couldn’t help but smile back at him. “The secret to taming Bunny cabin is gummy bears,” she joked. </p><p>His expression turned serious as he asked in a soft tone, “Will you please give me a chance? I know I’ve been persistent through your past rejections of my plea, but if you wish to say no this time, I promise not to ask you out on a date again.”</p><p>Lou’s stomach was in knots. She had run out of excuses to say no when she really wanted to say yes. It was difficult to embrace her fears when he was looking at her with those eyes she could get lost in. </p><p>“I like you,” he confessed. “I like you more than Xander likes his guitar or Gladys likes that contractor that rebuilt the cabins after the fire. And she really, really likes him. You should’ve seen the muffin basket she ordered for him.”</p><p>Even though she had been sinking into the snow for a while now, the cold couldn’t reach her because her heart was aglow. It was useless denying her feelings anymore.</p><p>“I like you, too,” she confessed in a tone that was sweet and sure. She leaned forward so that her nose met his and she heard him gasp. She added, “I’ll go out with you.” </p><p>His eyes fluttered shut and he tilted his head to kiss her, but he was surprised when she shoved him off of her. He yelped and rolled over in the snow. Her laughter rang out as she scrambled to her feet and grinned at him.</p><p>“What was that?” he pouted.</p><p>“You’ve got to at least take me on a date before you get a kiss, Casanova,” she lied. Now that she had told him the truth about her feelings, she knew she was definitely going to let him kiss her before the day was over. But her competitive side wanted to rejoin the snowball fight. She held out her hand to help him up from the snowy ground. “Let’s go claim victory for our cabins. With my snowball throwing skills and your battle strategy, this thing’s in the bag.”</p><p>He let her hoist him off the ground. He let go of her hand after he regained his balance. He couldn’t help but grin at her as he nodded in agreement. “I would like to win,” he admitted. “To victory!”</p><p>She interlocked her gloved fingers with his and the two of them ran off to rejoin the snowball fight.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Store Santa</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ravi stood inside a general shop in downtown Mooserump. He was in the corner of the shop in front of a standing mirror decorated with garland and lights. He inspected his elf costume in the mirror.</p><p>“This isn’t how I pictured my first year as a counselor,” Ravi said with a shrug. Behind his reflection, another image of himself appeared, wearing the same candy-cane-striped pants and green sweater. He furrowed his brow and murmured aloud, “Did the mirror crack? Why are there two of me?”</p><p>“There isn’t,” the second reflection said with a smile.</p><p>Ravi yelped and turned around to face the person behind him. There in front of him was an exact copy of himself. The same eyes. The same nose. The same face. Matching height. Matching weight. Matching costume.</p><p>“Charles was right. We look exactly alike,” the person said calmly and with a grin. His posture was more relaxed than Ravi’s and his voice was different. “I’d say we were twins, but I’m an only child. Plus, the whole being born in London thing. So, we must be...wait, what do you call it?”</p><p>“Doppelgangers,” Ravi answered, finally finding his voice. He stared at the guy in front of him.</p><p>“Right! Hey, I’m Remington,” he said as he checked his hair in the mirror. “You can call me Remi.”</p><p>Ravi heard footsteps around the corner. Mr. Charles, the owner of the shop, appeared with a box full of festive hats. Last year, the shopkeeper had been inspired by the Christmas display that the counselors had set up at Camp Kikiwaka for their campers. From that inspiration, Mr. Charles had convinced the shops in downtown Mooserump to hold a Christmas in July festival for one week in July. His store would be where people could visit Santa and the elves.</p><p>“Remi, I see you’ve met Ravi. Or Ravi, you’ve met Remi. I’m not sure who is who now. Y’all look like two pups from the same litter, I swear it,” Mr. Charles said. “Where’s Lou?”</p><p>“She’s still getting changed,” Ravi answered absentmindedly as he continued to stare at Remi.</p><p>“Who’s Lou?” Remi asked as he grabbed two elf hats out of the box. He passed one to Ravi, who clumsily dropped it.</p><p>“She’s my friend. We both volunteered to be elves,” Ravi explained as he put on the hat. “Well, technically she volunteered us to be elves.” He added quickly to Mr. Charles, “Which I’m more than happy to do.” He turned his attention back to Remi and continued, “We’re from Camp Kikiwaka.”</p><p>“I’m on holiday, visiting my uncle,” Remi said. “His shop is next door.”</p><p>Mr. Charles frowned and said, “But now I got three elves and no Santa. I had asked a counselor from Camp Champion to help out, but the rascal backed out last minute. Let me check with the store next door.”</p><p>The guys watched the shopkeeper disappear around a corner of overstuffed shelves. Mr. Charles had gone all out decorating the store with Christmas decorations and ordering merchandise to sell during the event.</p><p>“Ravi! Where are you?” a voice called out from the other side of the store.</p><p>“That your friend?” Remi asked. He grinned and said, “Think she’ll be able to tell us apart?”</p><p>“I can barely tell us apart,” Ravi said. “Except for the London accent.”</p><p>“I’ll shut it then,” Remi said with a nod.</p><p>The two of them were silent when Lou found them by the standing mirror. She wore the same elf costume as the two of them: candy-cane-striped pants and a green sweater with a black belt around it. She had added flare to her outfit with ranch boots and earrings that were shaped like little red bows.</p><p>“Howdy ho ho ho,” she said cheerily as she approached them. She gasped and her eyes widened. She immediately grabbed Ravi’s arm and shook it excitedly. “That guy looks just like you!”</p><p>Surprised, Ravi stammered, “You can tell us apart?”</p><p>“Of course, I can. I’m not an idiot,” Lou said as she offered her hand to shake Remi’s. “Hi, I’m Lou!”</p><p>“You’re lovely,” Remi said with a smile as he held Lou’s hand with both of his. “Does your smile always brighten the room?”</p><p>Ravi couldn’t believe Remi was actually hitting on his friend. His jaw dropped as he looked at his look-a-like as if he had lost his mind. He was further stunned when Lou giggled. </p><p>“Let me get you a hat,” Remi said as he let go of her hand. He grabbed an elf hat from the box and gently placed it on her head. “Wow, you’re adorable.”</p><p>“I know,” Lou agreed and giggled as she tucked her chin to her shoulder to look more adorable.</p><p>Ravi was flabbergasted. He agreed that his friend looked adorable in her elf costume, but he wouldn’t tell her that. Mr. Charles returned with a plastic container in his hand. Red fabric and fluffy white material were visible through the container.</p><p>“So, it looks like I’m in need of a new Santa,” Mr. Charles said. “Who’s it gonna be?”</p><p>“I’m good with being an elf,” Lou said as she put her hands on her hips. “You need someone with experience wrangling kids to make sure the line keeps moving.”</p><p>“And I can take the photos for the parents,” Ravi said. “My sisters always make me take their pictures when we’re on vacation. And obviously an elf should take the pictures.”</p><p>Lou linked her arm with Ravi’s arm and grinned. “Looks like we’re both elves,” she said happily.</p><p>“Then I’ll be taking the suit,” Remi shrugged as he took the container from Mr. Charles.</p><p>“Good!” Mr. Charles smiled. “Elves, help me finish setting up. Santa, you go get ready.”</p><p>________________________________________</p><p>Lou was filling a bowl with miniature candy canes and Ravi was hooking up the photography equipment when Remi sauntered over in the Santa costume. He wore a fluffy white beard and floppy red hat. The red coat was way too large for his lean frame but he looked unbothered by it. He stepped up to the Santa throne that was in the middle of the store and sat down with ease. There was plenty of room on the cushioned throne for visitors to sit beside him. He scooched over to lean casually against one of the arms of the throne.</p><p>“Hey, Ravi, got the time?” Remi asked.</p><p>Ravi glanced down at his watch and said, “We’ve got about ten minutes before the festivities begin.”</p><p>Remi nodded his thanks and then turned his attention to Lou. He motioned for her to come over and he patted the spot beside him on the throne. She narrowed her eyes at him and smirked. His eyes were twinkling as he continued to wave her over. She rolled her eyes and walked over to the throne.</p><p>Ravi stopped adjusting the lighting and watched Lou sit beside Remi on the Santa throne. He felt something twist in his gut. He ignored it but kept his eye on his doppelganger.</p><p>“What?” Lou asked Remi now that she was seated beside him.</p><p>“I’m Santa,” Remi said casually. And then added in a more flirtatious tone, “I want to know what you want for Christmas.”</p><p>Ravi started coughing loudly. Remi and Lou gave him worried looks but he just waved them off. “Sorry, there must've been some dust from this costume,” he said in a hoarse tone.</p><p>“Let me grab you some water,” Remi said as he made a motion to stand.</p><p>“No, no need. I’m good,” Ravi said. He cleared his throat and briskly walked over to the camera equipment.</p><p>Remi settled back down on the Santa throne. He said to Lou, “So, we were talking about you…”</p><p>“And why are we talking about me?”</p><p>“You seem interesting.”</p><p>“I can’t take you seriously with that beard,” Lou chuckled as she pointed at the woolly mess on his face.</p><p>Remi removed the hat and beard in a few unhurried motions and said, “Better? We’ve got seven minutes before I need these. Tell me about yourself.”</p><p>Ravi frowned at the two of them. He thought to himself that he really didn’t want to watch his double get shot down by Lou. He knew that if she told Remi to buzz off then it would be like watching himself be humiliated. That didn’t seem like a fun way to start Christmas in July, but he was sure that was the likely scenario. The guy looked just like him.</p><p>“Let’s see,” Lou started. “I’ve been going to Camp Kikiwaka, the camp near town, since I was ten years old. It’s my absolute favorite place in the whole world.”</p><p>Ravi furrowed his brow in confusion. He wondered why Lou was still talking to Remi instead of telling him to put back on his beard and focus on work.</p><p>“Why?” Remi asked in a genuinely interested tone.</p><p>“I feel free there. I can be myself and hike and fish and spend time with all of my favorite people. Plus, who doesn’t love s’mores?” Lou said with a smile.</p><p>“Want to know a secret?” Remi asked. He leaned over and whispered in her ear. </p><p>Ravi clenched his jaw and looked away. He didn’t need to see Remi whispering in his favorite counselor’s ear. And he certainly didn’t need to see her blushing.</p><p>Lou gasped and looked at Remi in shock. “You’ve never had a s’more!”</p><p>“I tell you a secret and you shout it? Lou, that’s not how secrets work,” Remi said jokingly as he nudged her arm with his elbow, causing her to giggle.</p><p>“We have work to do!” Ravi shouted, more forceful and angrier than he had intended. He blinked and amended in a more neutral tone, “I mean, uh, it’s almost time to get started. We should get started.”</p><p>“He’s right,” Lou said as she reached for the Santa beard. She put it back on Remi’s face and smiled, “Merry Summer Christmas.”</p><p>“Happy Christmas,” Remi said in awe of her fingers brushing across his face as she adjusted the woolly beard.</p><p>Ravi felt his stomach and heart drop to the bottoms of his feet. He couldn’t understand why he felt distraught and disbelief and disheartened all at once. Though he knew one thing: Lou hadn’t told Remi to buzz off.</p><p>________________________________________</p><p>At Camp Kikiwaka, Ravi sat on the bench in front of the campfire pit on the Great Lawn. He wore his elf costume as he waited for Lou to meet him there. While they were elves, their walks together had been the only time that he had gotten to spend with her and he had spent most of that time only partially listening as he dreaded seeing Remi. It was the final day of the Christmas in July festival in town and the end to the worst week he had had all summer. </p><p>“Hey, Ravi,” Tiffany greeted him as she sat beside him on the bench. She noticed the look on his face and joked, “I thought Grumpy was a dwarf not an elf.”</p><p>“Ha ha,” he said in a sour tone. He tugged at the collar of the green sweater. It was the middle of summer and hot outside.</p><p>Tiffany hugged the dodgeball in her arms and narrowed her eyebrows at her best friend. She said, “Who crapped on your chromatogram?”</p><p>Ravi sighed and straightened his slouched posture. “Sorry for the attitude, Tiff. I’ve just had a terrible week.”</p><p>She gave him a confused look and asked, “You aren’t having fun volunteering with Lou for the festival?”</p><p>“Lou’s wonderful. And the festival has been fine. It’s Santa I have a problem with,” Ravi said. An image of Remi laughing along with Lou as they handed out goodie bags to children at the festival crossed his mind.</p><p>“Santa? The guy that gives kids presents and his diet consists mostly of sugar?”</p><p>“Not that Santa. This Santa happens to look just like me but with a British accent and he’s noticeably less clumsy than I. And it’s quite obvious that he’s trying to get some sugar from Lou,” Ravi said as he crossed his arms.</p><p>“Oh,” Tiffany drawled. “I get it now. You’re jealous.”</p><p>“Am not!” Ravi scoffed. The bell on the end of his elf hat jingled.</p><p>“If you weren’t jealous, then you wouldn’t care if some Santa that looks like you hit on Lou,” Tiffany said as she stood up from the bench. She tucked the dodgeball beneath her arm. “And it’s okay if you are jealous. But instead of being all pouty about it, you should just talk to Lou. She’s your friend.”</p><p>“Yes, she is my friend, which is exactly why I can’t say anything,” Ravi said as he stood up from the bench as well. “She will think it’s weird that I’m jealous.”</p><p>“So? All your friends think you’re weird,” Tiffany smiled. She tossed him the dodgeball, which he barely caught. “But it’s Lou. If you’re unhappy, she’d want to know. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some anger to channel into a dodgeball game. Jorge got peanut butter all over my violin case.”</p><p>“Guess the peanut butter makes sense because now he’s toast,” Ravi joked as he tossed Tiffany back the dodgeball.</p><p>“Is your doppelganger cheesy too?”</p><p>“Sort of,” Ravi sighed. “But he makes it work. I despise him.”</p><p>________________________________________</p><p>The last day of the Santa display at the shop was by far the worst for Ravi. The children and other visitors to the store were friendly and cheery and bought plenty of merchandise, much to Mr. Charles’ delight, but Remi and Lou dialed their flirtatious up to a ten. There were so many shoulder touches, winks, and flirty comments that he didn’t think he’d survive the day. But finally, it was over. </p><p>At the end of the day, Ravi waited at the garden fountain outside of the shop. He had swapped the elf costume for his regular counselor attire and was grateful not to be in the evening heat in an elf sweater.</p><p>“Thanks,” he heard Lou say as Remi held the door open for her. </p><p>The two of them walked out of the shop and stopped at the garden fountain. Ravi rolled his eyes at how close they walked beside each other. Their hands were centimeters apart. Ravi wondered if he himself had ever walked that close to Lou. </p><p>“So, Lou… if you change your mind...” Remi said as he stepped so close to Lou that Ravi was certain that Remi was going to kiss her. “I’ll be in town for another week.”</p><p>Ravi felt his face heat up. He wasn’t sure if it was embarrassment from seeing someone who looked so much like him getting much farther than he had ever gotten with a pretty girl or was it anger that the pretty girl Remi was trying to get was Lou.</p><p>“It’s been a fun week, Remi. Have a safe trip back to London,” she said sweetly as she smiled at him. “Bye.”</p><p>Ravi winced, shocked by her answer. He was almost certain that they’d kiss and he’d never be able to look at his reflection in a mirror again without getting angry.</p><p>“Cheers,” Remi replied smoothly before stepping away from her. He turned his attention to Ravi and waved, “You’re the best-looking guy I’ve seen!”</p><p>Ravi forced out a laugh and waved goodbye. He and Lou watched Remi walk down the sidewalk and turn the corner at the coffee shop at the end of the road. Ravi never wanted to see the guy again.</p><p>“We did it, Ravi! Elf duty is officially over,” she gave him a quick hug and then stepped away, smiling. “Thanks so much for volunteering with me. I knew you wouldn’t let me down. Ready to head back to camp?”</p><p>Ravi blinked at her in confusion. He glanced in the direction that Remi had gone and then looked back at Lou.</p><p>She held up a small bag and said, “Charles gave me a bunch of mini candy canes. Don’t worry, I’ll split them with you.” She started to walk away, but Ravi grabbed her by the elbow.</p><p>“Hold on…” He let go of her elbow and continued, “I don’t get it…”</p><p>Lou blinked and tilted her head to the side. “Get what?” she asked innocently.</p><p>“That! You and Remi and the flirting!” Ravi exclaimed, waving his arms around. “Why didn’t you want to go out with him before he leaves to go back to London?”</p><p>“Oh, that,” Lou drawled. She sat on the edge of the garden fountain and looked up at the evening sky. The storefronts and buildings were still blinking with Christmas lights for the summer festival. “Eh, it wouldn’t have worked out. I mean, he’s a great guy. But…”</p><p>Ravi sat beside her on the edge of the fountain. The water babbled behind them. The crowds from earlier had disappeared with only the occasional shopper or employee walking by. One car idled in a parking spot in front of the bait and tackle shop across the street.</p><p>“He’s a great guy, but…” Ravi repeated her words to get her to continue.</p><p>“Well, he and I obviously have chemistry,” Lou said as she grinned at the memory of their flirting over the past week. “If we went out, we would definitely kiss...probably a lot…”</p><p>Ravi tried not to glare at her. He decided that he really, really despised Remington.</p><p>“And, ugh, I can’t do that. I mean, every time I look at the guy, all I see is…”</p><p>“Me?” Ravi asked in a disappointed tone. He didn’t want Remi kissing Lou, but the thought of her being disgusted with the idea of kissing someone that looked exactly like him wasn’t what he wanted either. </p><p>“You? No, Santa. I’d lean in for a smooch and all I’d see is an itchy, woolly beard and a lopsided hat from storage. I mean, I guess I’d see you too, but duh, you two look just alike, of course I’d see you. That’s no problem. But Santa, ugh, no deal,” Lou said. She reached into the bag and offered him a candy cane.</p><p>Ravi stared at her. He couldn’t find the words. He would start to speak and then stop again. Lou raised her eyebrow at him and waved the candy cane in front of his face.</p><p>“You alright there, pal?” she asked.</p><p>“Let me make sure I’m understanding this correctly,” Ravi said in a serious tone. “You have no problems kissing someone who looks like me… But you have a problem kissing someone who dresses like Santa?”</p><p>“Yeah, I just said that,” Lou replied as she ripped open the candy cane. “We better head back to camp before it gets too dark.”</p><p>“So, kissing Santa is…”</p><p>“Gross,” Lou said scrunching her nose.</p><p>“And kissing me is…”</p><p>“Kissing you or kissing Remi?” Lou asked casually as she stood up from the edge of the fountain.</p><p>“What’s the difference?” Ravi asked as he walked beside her.</p><p>“You look alike and you have a lot of things in common, but you’re not Remi and Remi is not you, Ravi. That’s a big difference.”</p><p>“We have things in common?” Ravi asked. He hadn’t tried to get to know Remi while they volunteered together. Remi was always nice and had even tried to talk to him on occasion, but Ravi mostly ignored and avoided him.</p><p>Lou nodded as they turned toward the wooded path that led back to Camp Kikiwaka. She said, “He’s really smart, like you. Half the things he talked about I only knew because I hang out with you so much.”</p><p>“Really?” </p><p>“Yep. And he’s so weird. I never thought I’d meet another person besides you that follows extreme ironing blogs,” Lou said as she stepped over a fallen branch.</p><p>“He does?” Ravi stumbled over a rock but regained his balance.</p><p>“I’m surprised you didn’t try to hang out with him more,” Lou said. “I wish I had a doppelganger. I would so hang out with her. Oh! And we could go to pig races together and have contests to see who could chop the most wood. That’d be good times.” </p><p>“I suppose I hadn’t realized what an anomaly not only his existence but our meeting each other was,” Ravi said, now regretting wasting his time being jealous instead of making a new friend. “I guess I was so wrapped up in my own jealousy that I didn’t realize what an opportunity I had.”</p><p>“Jealousy?” Lou asked. She slowed her pace. The moon and stars were now visible above the treetops of the forest.</p><p>Ravi felt nervousness creep into his chest. He looked over at his friend. She was looking at him expectantly. He sighed and said, “I was jealous. All week in fact. From the moment he held your hand and said that you were lovely, I’ve disliked him.”</p><p>Lou thought for a moment as they continued walking. She asked, “You were jealous...cause he’s good at flirting?”</p><p>Ravi was now a full bundle of nerves. He thought over his next words carefully. It was true that he had been jealous that Remi’s flirting skills were more advanced than his own, but that wasn’t the whole truth. Deep down, he knew why he was actually jealous.</p><p>“I was jealous because Remi’s good at flirting with you,” Ravi confessed. He stopped walking and she did too. “He looks just like me, Lou. And apparently, he has a lot of similar qualities in personality, too. But he made you giggle. And he winked at you. And he asked you ‘if you wanted to be on his naughty or nice lists.’”</p><p>Lou chuckled and said, “Yeah, I don’t see you asking me that. Or winking. You’re not the winking type. But what does any of that matter, Ravi? It’s not like you want to flirt with me. You have zero romantic interest in me.” She gazed into his eyes and her tone softened as she asked, “Right?”</p><p>He held her gaze and replied honestly, “I don’t know.” He exhaled and looked down at the ground. “I hadn’t thought of you in that way before…But seeing you with him was like seeing you with me…” He lifted his gaze back to her eyes. “And I wanted it to actually be me.”</p><p>“You did?”</p><p>“Honestly… I still do…”</p><p>Lou stared at him wordlessly for what felt like an eternity to Ravi. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest as he waited for her to either end their friendship or laugh in his face. </p><p>“Please say something,” he said above a whisper.</p><p>“Sorry,” she exhaled. She blinked and shook her head. “I was just making sure I didn’t get any Santa Claus visuals. We’re good.” She grinned and joked, “But I might have a thing for elves.”</p><p>He chuckled and all his nervousness melted away. She laughed too and told him, “Let’s hurry back to camp. We’ve got all summer to figure things out.”</p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Ugly Christmas Sweaters</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You know this is ridiculous, right?” Emma asked as she raised an eyebrow at her best friend and her brother. She stood in front of the door to the apartment she shared with Lou. The door was surrounded with garland and Christmas lights as were all the large windows in the living room.</p><p>“No, it’s not,” Lou replied as she scooted closer to Ravi on the couch and adjusted her Santa hat with the bell at the end of it. It jingled as she said to him, “Oh! Pick up that hot chocolate! We want to look extra cozy.”</p><p>“Good idea!” Ravi said. He grabbed the oversized mug off the coffee table and then leaned in to snap a picture of the two of them on his phone.</p><p>Emma shook her head as placed her shopping bags by an armchair. She had been shopping all day, picking out the perfect gifts for her family and friends. That morning, she had invited Lou, but her roommate declined and said she had something important to do. She had also sent Ravi a text message asking if he wanted to get lunch while she was out, but he had also declined.</p><p>“I can’t believe this is the ‘important thing’ you had to do,” Emma said as she reached for a gingerbread cookie that was plated on the coffee table. </p><p>Ravi, careful not to spill the hot chocolate, slapped Emma’s hand away from the cookie. He scolded her, “No eating the props, Emma.”</p><p>“Ow,” Emma grumbled as she glared at Ravi. She snatched a candy cane from a bowl by the armchair and sat down.</p><p>“This wasn’t the important thing,” Lou explained as she took the hot chocolate from Ravi. </p><p>She scooped a dollop of whipped cream from the mountain of marshmallows and bopped it on Ravi’s nose. He snapped a picture of her holding the mug and giggling as he feigned surprised. Emma noticed the way Lou blushed and gazed longingly at Ravi even after he had taken the picture.</p><p>“Oh brother,” Emma muttered as she rolled her eyes at the two of them.</p><p>Lou handed Ravi back the mug and he sat it carefully on the coffee table. She confessed, “The important thing was watching holiday movies on Netflix cause I didn’t want to go shopping.”</p><p>“Hey!” Emma said, offended. “Shopping is an art.”</p><p>“For you, bestie, I know. And your art takes forever. I just wanted a lazy Saturday,” Lou said. She picked up a cookie and said to Ravi. “Let’s get one with the gingerbread man!”</p><p>He nodded and then pretended to bite one end of the cookie while Lou pretended to bite the other end as he snapped the picture.</p><p>“And I couldn’t have lunch with you because I had to purchase these hideous sweaters,” Ravi said as he placed the cookie back on the plate full of cookies.</p><p>“How did watching Netflix become staging a photoshoot to annoy Ravi’s ex-girlfriend?” Emma asked as she unwrapped her candy cane. While she had been out shopping, she glanced at some of her social media accounts and saw the pictures of the two of them.</p><p>“Well, I was watching some Christmas movie about a woman marrying this really hot guy who also happened to be a prince or something and then Ravi called me, crying…” Lou explained as she eyed the gingerbread cookie they had just pretended to bite.</p><p>“I wasn’t ‘crying’,” Ravi scoffed. He looked over at Emma and said, “I wasn’t crying...I was upset. This morning had been pleasant until Megan ruined it with that absurd wedding invitation. I mean, really, she and her fiancé had to pick the cheapest cardstock available?”</p><p>“How did you know we were trying to annoy Megan?” Lou asked as she swiped the gingerbread cookie off the plate. She bit into it and hummed. Ravi gave her a disapproving look to which she replied, “Sorry, I know! Props! But I’m starving.” </p><p>“Why didn’t you tell me? I can pick us up dinner afterwards,” Ravi said as he brushed the crumbs off Lou’s chin with the sleeve of his sweater. He turned his attention back to Emma and asked, “Yeah? How did you know we were trying to annoy her?”</p><p>“Why else would Ravi’s Instagram be full of pictures of the two of you decked out in ugly Christmas sweaters,” Emma said matter-of-factly.</p><p>“Did they not look believable? Like we’re an adorable couple enjoying the holiday season?” Ravi asked in a worried tone. He scrolled through the newest set of pictures on his phone. “Maybe you should review these before I post anymore. They need to look real.”</p><p>“Ravi, you’re a grown man. You have a great job. And a wonderful apartment in the city. And your older sister is breathtakingly beautiful and she has great taste in everything,” Emma said as she flipped her hair over her shoulder. “You’re too old to fake a social media relationship just because your ex is getting married.”</p><p>“No, I’m not,” Ravi pouted as he grabbed a gingerbread cookie. He bit the head off of the cookie and slouched on the couch with his arms crossed. </p><p>“You’re twenty-seven,” Emma said with a smirk. “Grow up. We’re not kids at camp anymore. And Lou, I love you, but you should know better. You’re older than he is. And you have a boyfriend!”</p><p>Ravi’s eyes widened and he sat up on the couch. “You and Evan are together now? I thought he wasn’t a thing.”</p><p>“No! We’re not official or anything. We can date other people. Besides, he and I haven’t been on a date in weeks. I’m just gonna let that fizzle out,” Lou said as she munched on her cookie.</p><p>“What other people have you been dating? The only guy you’re ever around is Ravi,” Emma said. She winced at the peppermint flavor of the candy cane.</p><p>“Eh,” Lou shrugged. She snapped her fingers and said excitedly to Ravi, “You know what we need? Mistletoe!”</p><p>“You’re so right!” Ravi looked over at his sister across the table and asked, “I’m sure you’ve purchased some in your holiday shopping spree?” </p><p>Emma ignored her brother and scrolled through her phone. She said to Lou, “Have you checked your phone? Evan left some pretty interesting comments on Ravi’s pictures.”</p><p>Lou stood up and the bells on her Santa hat and ugly sweater jingled. Emma noticed the way Ravi frowned when Lou was no longer beside him. She smirked to herself.</p><p>Lou grabbed her phone from the table by the door and scrolled through her messages. She looked up from her phone and said to her friends, “Yeah… I think it’s officially fizzled out. But good news, Ravi. He definitely thinks the pictures are real!”</p><p>“Yay!” Ravi cheered. The lights of the giant bow on the front of his sweater shined. </p><p>“This is worse than the time I caught you two slow dancing in the kitchen,” Emma muttered.</p><p>“No one hears an Ed Sheeran song and doesn’t dance, Emma,” Ravi said nonchalantly.</p><p>“And look,” Lou said as she read a text message off her phone. “He said, ‘I knew we were dating other people. But seriously, that guy? What an embarrassment.’” She held up her phone and smiled. “See, I told you me and Evan weren’t official.”</p><p>“Yep, you’re right,” Emma said flatly.</p><p>“Slightly hurtful message, but still great news!” Ravi said as he gave Lou two thumbs up and smiled. </p><p>“He’s obviously ticked off that you stole his potential girlfriend,” Emma said.</p><p>“I didn’t steal her,” Ravi replied. “Lou, do you feel stolen?”</p><p>“I’m good,” Lou said.</p><p>“See, she’s good.”</p><p>Emma scanned Evan’s comments. She said, “Well that text was the nicest thing he said.” She read out loud, “Blah blah blah I knew you two were more than friends...blah blah how do you think this makes me look when you date that wimp at the same time as me...blah at least I dated up...blah blah blah I hope his stupid bow with those stupid lights catch on fire…”</p><p>“Whoa,” Ravi said. He looked down at the bow on his sweater. “Do you really think it’ll catch on fire?”</p><p>Lou inspected the bow from where she stood. “Nah.”</p><p>Emma shook her head and sighed. “Why do I even bother? You’re both clueless.” She stood up from the armchair and collected her shopping bags. “By the way, the pictures of you in front of the Christmas tree, those were actually adorable,” she said reluctantly as she walked toward her room. “You two have fun being crazy!” she called out.</p><p>“We always do,” Lou called back.</p><p>Ravi scrolled to a picture of him and Lou hugging in front of the tree. “Aw! We do look adorable,” he cooed as he waved Lou over.</p><p>She plopped down beside him and grinned at the picture. “That’s it. We’re making Christmas cards to send everyone. And not on cheap cardstock either.”</p><p>“How do we make such ugly sweaters look so good?” Ravi said with a nod. </p><p>“You got that right,” Lou said as they high-fived. She scrolled through her phone to check out the pictures he had posted to Instagram of the two of them in their ugly Christmas sweaters.</p><p>Ravi sat quietly beside her, staring at the star at the top of the Christmas tree. After a moment he asked, “Do you think it’s weird? What we’re doing?”</p><p>Lou turned toward him and said, “We’re just two friends posting a fake romantic relationship on the Internet...oh, yep. I hear it now. When I say it out loud it does sound like the weird plot of a cheesy holiday movie.”</p><p>“How do those usually turn out?”</p><p>“The two friends fall in love by the end of the movie…”</p><p>Lou turned away from him and stared at one of the shiny ornaments on the tree. They sat in awkward silence, each of them focusing on the tree decorations to keep from glancing at the person beside them. Lou’s eyes wandered over to the window and she gasped.</p><p>“Look, Ravi! It’s snowing!” She exclaimed as she grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the window.</p><p>“Oh, we have to take a picture in the snow!” Ravi declared as he watched the flurries fall on the city. She released his hand and nodded.</p><p>“Ugly Christmas sweaters and snow, that’s begging to be a couple picture on Instagram!” Lou exclaimed. “We’ll just have to risk falling in love. I can’t waste an opportunity to have a cuter Christmas picture than Lila Johnson and her stupid doctor boyfriend.”</p><p>“Agreed. Worst case we end up having a much better wedding than whatever tacky thing Megan’s throwing together.” </p><p>“Way better than hers!” Lou agreed.</p><p>Ravi grasped Lou’s hand and they ran for the front door, as goofy and inseparable as they had been years ago at Camp Kikiwaka.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The Nutcracker</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>For what felt like the hundredth time that week, Xander restrained himself from shaking some sense into his stubborn bunkmate. He was normally a chill kind of guy and not much got to him, but he had had enough of Ravi and Lou’s drama. Neither of them would tell him what had happened on their first date last week. But they both avoided each other at all costs, much to Xander’s annoyance. It was difficult being friends with two people who refused to be around each other and it made it more difficult that they wouldn’t tell him or Emma why.</p><p>Finally, that Friday night, Xander and his girlfriend had decided to put an end to their friends’ nonsense. It was the monthly movie night and they were going to force their friends to sit together through the movie. Hopefully, being around each other for more than five minutes would persuade the two of them to finally talk about whatever had happened. </p><p>“And you’re sure she won’t be there?” Ravi asked Xander.</p><p>Part of Xander and Emma’s plan was to keep Ravi away from the Great Lawn while Lou helped Emma with setting up for movie night. For the past hour, he and Ravi had been on a long walk on the nature trail. Now they were walking out of the woods and could see the cabins from the path.</p><p>“Huh?” Xander fumbled his words. “I mean… so what... if she is?”</p><p>Ravi studied Xander’s guilty look. He shook his head and changed direction to head toward Grizzly cabin. He said flatly, “I’m not going.”</p><p>Xander sped up his pace to keep up with Ravi. “Dude, she won’t be there,” he lied.</p><p>“I can tell when you’re lying,” Ravi replied as he stepped up to their porch.</p><p>“Why would I lie?” Xander asked as he forced his tone to sound calm. He figured he would do better asking a question than saying anything else. He relaxed against the porch railing to make his posture more casual, hoping he looked more believable.</p><p>________________________________________</p><p> <br/>
The theme of that Friday’s movie night was Christmas in July. Gladys had planned it that way so she could sneak as many holiday romantic comedies in as possible. Because of the mushy lineup of movies, most campers had opted out and some of the counselors had happily volunteered to watch over them as they played board games in the mess hall or hung out until lights out in the cabins. </p><p>Emma had made sure Lou was busy with setup. They spread out blankets and lawn chairs on the Great Lawn. They made a ton of popcorn and baked Christmas cookies for the viewers to snack on during the event. Once everything was mostly done, Lou disappeared into Woodchuck cabin while Emma arranged candy canes on the snack table.</p><p>Emma walked into the cabin to find Lou sulking and wrapped up in a blanket. </p><p>“Lou, he won’t be there,” Emma said, hoping Lou didn’t notice the way her voice went up an octave during the lie.</p><p>“Great, then we both won’t be there,” Lou huffed as she rolled over to face the wall.</p><p>Emma sighed. Her best friend hadn’t been her usual cheery self for the past week. It had been so bad that Tiffany and Zuri had threatened to move out of the cabin if Emma didn’t fix her friend.</p><p>“But you love movie nights,” Emma reasoned.</p><p>________________________________________</p><p> <br/>
Ravi glanced over at the Great Lawn. People were already starting to gather on the blankets and lawn chairs. He could smell the popcorn from his place on the porch. He shook his head and said, “Why am I even kidding myself? Lou loves movie nights. Of course she’s going to be there.” He pushed open the door of their cabin and declared, “I’m not going.”</p><p>Xander followed his friend inside and lightly kicked the door shut behind them. He sighed in frustration. Ravi had been a lot to deal with over the past week. He was normally quirky and interesting to hang out with, but now he was brooding all the time and it bummed the Grizzlies out. Griff and Jorge had threatened to kick Ravi out of the cabin if Xander didn’t fix him. </p><p> “I don’t get what the big deal is,” Xander said without thinking. He regretted his words immediately.</p><p>“The big deal!” Ravi cried dramatically. He flopped down on his bed and wrapped a blanket around himself. </p><p>Xander facepalmed and hoped his girlfriend was having better luck than he was having right now. “I didn’t mean it like that,” Xander said.</p><p>“I made a complete fool of myself!” Ravi declared from his blanket cocoon.<br/>
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Emma sat on the edge of Lou’s bed and kindly patted her on the shoulder. She said, “Come on, you can’t miss movie night. Especially tonight when all the movies are about love and Christmas. You love Christmas!”</p><p>Lou shrugged Emma’s hand away and continued to sulk. She clutched her pillow and glared at the wall. She grumbled, “All those dang movies are cow poo.”</p><p>“You don’t mean that. And, uh, there’s popcorn! You love popcorn!”</p><p>Lou wouldn’t budge from her blanket. She said sternly, “I’m not going.”</p><p>Emma frowned. Her patience for the entire situation had become thin. With Lou and Ravi both refusing to talk to her about what had happened and them both refusing to talk to each other at all, she didn’t know what else to do. And the stress was giving her a pimple. She hated pimples.</p><p>“Ugh,” Emma rolled her eyes. “It was one bad date, Lou! You’ve got to move on.”</p><p>Lou sprang up from her curled position to sit up on the bed, flinging the blanket off of her head. She stared at Emma with wide, watery eyes. Her chin trembled as she stammered, “Move on? He’s moving on!”</p><p>“Oops, wrong choice of words,” Emma muttered as she gave Lou a confused look. She had thought her best friend was furious with Ravi, so that reaction wasn’t expected.<br/>
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 <br/>
Xander crossed his ankles and leaned against a dresser. He watched his friend sulk in the fetal position. He had known Ravi for almost three years and this was the most dramatic he had seen him.</p><p>“Dude, we all make mistakes,” Xander said. “But you have to move on.”</p><p>“Move on!” Ravi exclaimed as he clutched his blanket tighter around his chin. “Oh no! I’ve ruined my chance, haven’t I? She’s moving on!”</p><p>“No, that’s not what I…” Xander tried to explain but Ravi had already crawled over to the pillows and buried his face.<br/>
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Emma twirled a candy cane on her finger as she waited for the movie to start. She glanced around at the small crowd and noticed how it was mostly couples. Some people were wearing Santa hats or reindeer antlers to go with the Christmas in July theme. She saw her boyfriend holding a bag of popcorn and looking around the lawn for her. She waved him over.</p><p>“No luck?” Emma asked as Xander sat beside her on the blanket.</p><p>“Nope,” Xander replied as he offered her some of the popcorn.</p><p>“Me either,” she said as she grabbed a handful. She frowned. “I really wanted this to work. If they don’t talk about what happened…”</p><p>“Then they’re going to drive us all crazy.”</p><p>Emma gave him a slight nod. She picked up a kernel and then dropped it back down to the others in her palm. She said, “I’m worried about them. I think Lou really, really likes him.”</p><p>“And Ravi is a mess,” Xander said between munches of popcorn. “But how can we help them if they won’t let us?”</p><p>Emma asked in a disheartened tone, “So, we should just give up?”</p><p>Xander scooched closer to her and put his arm around her shoulder. He said, “Maybe we should talk about something else.” He pointed at Gladys grabbing snacks from the snack table. She was dressed like Mrs. Claus. “You think if Santa ever delivered presents to her house she’d let him escape?”</p><p>“Not a chance,” Emma laughed. She smiled at him. “What’s your favorite thing about Christmas?”</p><p>“Easy, all the awesome music,” he replied with ease. “What about you?”</p><p>Emma thought for a moment as she leaned into his arms. She looked up at him and said, “Every year my parents take all of us to see The Nutcracker. I’ve always loved it. Ballet is so beautiful.”</p><p>“Cool,” Xander smiled. “Is it like that musical, uh, Elf?”</p><p>Emma giggled and snuggled into him. Xander rested his chin in her hair as he inhaled the night air. They were both exhausted from dealing with their friends. </p><p>“Quiet! The movie’s starting,” Hazel shouted from her spot near the projector.</p><p>The crowd settled down and the movie began to play. Emma yawned as her eyes fluttered shut.<br/>
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“Ah!”</p><p>Emma startled awake at the sound of her youngest brother screaming. She lifted her head off the hard floor and frantically looked around in the dark for him. She scrambled to her feet and was shocked to find that the ground beneath her was not grass but hardwood flooring. She spun around in the darkness. The Great Lawn was gone. The campers were gone. The starry night sky was gone.</p><p>“Ah!”</p><p>She heard the sound of screaming again and jumped slightly. Suddenly, she saw giant rats running toward her. She screamed and ran in the opposite direction. Her slippers made a pattering sound against the flooring. Her heartbeat sped up when she heard the sound of someone catching up to her.</p><p>“Ah!”</p><p>Emma winced in pain from the closeness of the scream. She turned to the person running beside her and her eyes widened at the sight of Ravi. He had a terrified look on his face. He was dressed like a prince in white and gold. </p><p>“Ravi?”</p><p>“Help me!” he shouted as he sped up and ran into the darkness.</p><p>Emma looked over her shoulder and saw the human-sized rats not far behind. She sped up until she saw a giant green ball from the corner of her eye. She turned left and ran towards it. As she got closer, she realized it was a giant Christmas bulb that was the size of a car. She hid behind the ornament in time as the rats slowed to a stop. She peeked around the bulb to see them sniffing around. </p><p>“Weasels?” she soundlessly mouthed.</p><p>Now that the rats were in sight, she could see that they were the girls from Weasel cabin. They were all dressed in loose, grey bodysuits with long tails and headbands with large ears. She watched them sniff around and then run into the darkness. Emma sighed in relief. She tilted her head up to where the sky should be, but instead of night sky she saw the faint twinkling of Christmas lights high above her on what appeared to be gigantic Christmas tree branches. They didn’t offer much light.</p><p>“Psst!”</p><p>Emma looked to her left and saw another giant Christmas ornament. Xander was hiding behind it and waving her over. She looked around to make sure the girls were gone before sprinting over to him.</p><p>“Do you think they’re gone?” Xander asked.</p><p>Emma glanced around the dark space. All she could see was darkness and the occasional giant tree decoration. “I think we’re good,” she answered.</p><p>“What’s going on? Why are we dressed like this?” Xander questioned.</p><p>For the first time, Emma looked down at her outfit. She was no longer wearing shorts and a Woodchuck cabin hoodie. Now she was wearing a dress that reminded her of airy, pink cotton candy. She felt her hair and found that it was tied in a pink ribbon. Xander was dressed in white pants and a red coat that looked like a toy soldier’s uniform. He also had a sword at his side.</p><p>Emma gasped, “You’re the Nutcracker soldier!” She did a spin in her dress. “And I’m Clara!”</p><p>“Who?”</p><p>“It’s The Nutcracker. We’re having the same dream,” Emma explained. “At least, I think it’s a dream.”</p><p>“Mmph,” Xander said with a shrug. He added, “Cool.”</p><p>“Ah!” </p><p>Emma and Xander saw Ravi running toward them. He still looked terrified. Behind him were the rat girls chasing after him. From behind one of the largest ornaments, stepped out a rat with a crown and a sword.</p><p>“That’s Lydia,” Emma shouted as she pointed toward the commotion. “She’s the Rat King!”</p><p>Ravi finally reached his sister and Xander. He cowered behind them as the rats waited at a distance for their king to come closer. </p><p>“Please help me,” Ravi begged.</p><p>“Don’t worry, dude,” Xander said as he held out his sword. “I’ve seen a bunch of pirate movies, so I’m probably great in a dream sword fight.” </p><p>Emma and Ravi watched as Xander charged forward. Lydia the Rat King held her sword high and ran past her rat crew. The clang of metal echoed in the darkness. Emma saw that the rat crew was approaching.</p><p>She said, “We better get out of here!”</p><p>Ravi grabbed her hand and they took off running. He led her around giant bulbs and strings of beads that looked like they could crush the two of them. They were blocked by a mountain of tinsel when the crew cornered them.</p><p>“Take the girl!” Ravi cried as he pushed Emma toward the rats.</p><p>“Nice to see that you’re still brave,” Emma said sarcastically. She glared at the rats and spread her arms to block Ravi behind her. “Back off, rat girls!”</p><p>One of the girls picked up her rat tail and swung it at Emma. It knocked her out of the way and sent her sliding across the floor.</p><p>“Ow! I didn’t think dreams were supposed to hurt,” she said in a strained voice as she held her side. She watched the rats pick Ravi up from the ground and carry him away screaming.</p><p>“Emma,” Xander gasped as he ran up behind his girlfriend. He crouched down beside her and gave her a worried look. “Are you alright?”</p><p>“Yeah, but the rats took Ravi,” she answered.</p><p>“The Rat King got away too,” he said. He looked around in the darkness. “What do we do now?”</p><p>Emma was about to respond when a faint sound caught her attention. She furrowed her brow and listened. “Do you hear that?” she whispered.</p><p>Xander listened for a moment. He gave her a confused look. “It sounds kinda like...crying?”</p><p>They stood up and took each other’s hand. The cry was barely noticeable but there. Emma and Xander cautiously walked forward into the darkness. The hardwood floor beneath their ballet slippers became decreasingly solid until they were walking in snow. They both had to squint as their surroundings became increasingly brighter until they were in a forest.<br/>
“Listen,” Emma said as she held tighter to Xander’s hand. “The crying is louder now.”</p><p>Her boyfriend nodded as he looked over her shoulder. His eyes widened and he pointed behind her. “We’ve got company.”</p><p>Emma turned to see Zuri and Tiffany doing sissonne jumps in the snow. Both of the young girls were dressed like purple flowers. Zuri waved the counselors forward before twirling off in the direction of the crying. </p><p>“I think she wants us to follow?” Emma said to Xander, unsure.</p><p>Tiffany waved and twirled off in the direction that Zuri had gone. Emma took a step forward and lifted her hand to catch snowflakes in her palm. She frowned and let go of Xander's hand. She crouched down and grabbed two handfuls of snow.</p><p>“Are we going to throw snow at Zuri and Tiffany?” Xander asked.</p><p>“No,” Emma said as she dropped the snow and stood back up. “It’s just...the snow should be cold, right?” She pointed up at the sky as snowflakes drifted down. “We should be cold, too...but I’m not.”</p><p>“Hmm, must be weird dream stuff,” Xander reasoned with a shrug. He grabbed her hand and said, “Come on, we better catch up with the girls.”</p><p>They followed the path that Zuri and Tiffany had danced through the snow until they found the girls sitting by a river. Tiffany was playing her violin, but the sound of crying was clearer than before. Both girls looked disheartened as they sat gracefully by the river.</p><p>“Zuri, why do you look so sad?” Emma frowned as she approached her sister.</p><p>“These are her tears,” Zuri said as she scooped water from the river and let the drops drip to the snow.</p><p>Tiffany stopped playing her violin to point across the river. She told Xander, “Take the boat to the Land of Sweets.”</p><p>Emma’s eyes brightened. She smiled at Xander, “Right! In the ballet, Clara and the Nutcracker soldier visit the Land of Sweets.” </p><p>She carefully stepped into the river and waded across. The water was clear and she could see straight to the bottom of the river. There was a shine to it too, like crystal. She noticed that even though there was snow all around that the water wasn’t cold. She climbed into the boat. Xander climbed in after her.</p><p>“Do you think Ravi’s okay?” Emma asked as the boat drifted down the river.</p><p>“It’s a dream, right? So, he should be good,” Xander said and then added with less confidence, “I hope.”</p><p>“Me too. Even though he’s been a pain this week. I hate seeing that terrified look on his face.”</p><p>“Yeah, I haven’t seen him look that scared since the time Jorge went after him with those hedge clippers. Which might happen again if we can’t get him to stop moping around.” </p><p>Emma nodded as she continued to listen to the cry. It now sounded more like sobbing. She glanced down and gasped. She saw campers in the water and they were all dressed like snowflakes as they looked up at the sky. They all had frowns as they floated by.</p><p>“This dream’s getting creepy,” Xander muttered. He squinted at the water and asked, “And are those strawberries and candy canes floating in the water with the campers?”</p><p>Suddenly the boat bumped into the snowy shore. They both slowly stepped out of the boat. Now the crying sounded like wailing. Emma pointed at a thin stream of water that flowed into the river.</p><p>“This whole river is just from this stream,” she said. Her eyes traced it to a forest of shortbread cookies that were shaped like Christmas trees. “Let’s follow it.”</p><p>Xander nodded in agreement as they held hands and followed the stream into the forest. The air had a sweet aroma and all of the flowers and rocks looked like cupcakes. Finally, they stopped where the stream ended and found Lou sobbing on the snowy floor of the forest.</p><p>“Lou?” the couple asked simultaneously.</p><p>Lou looked up from her hands. Tears glistened in the corners of her wide, watery eyes. They had the same shine as the water in the stream and river. She was dressed like a princess in white and gold. Emma noticed that Lou’s outfit matched Ravi’s.</p><p>“That no-good Rat King stole my partner,” Lou sniffled. </p><p>Emma and Xander watched as two kids dressed like candy canes came to help Lou up from the ground. She dramatically leaned on both of them as they guided her through the forest.</p><p>“We could’ve stayed awake for more of her acting like this,” Xander leaned over and muttered to Emma.</p><p>She swatted his chest with the back of her hand. She said, “Shush. And I know she’s been a lot, but look…” She pointed at the stream leading to the river. “She cried this entire river…”</p><p>Xander frowned at the stream. He gave a sympathetic look in the direction that Lou had gone and said, “We should talk to her.”</p><p>They followed the candy cane kids until they were at a picnic table in the forest. There were fancy cups and plates on the table along with a beautiful and delicious-looking arrangement of sweets. Lou sat at the table and sighed. Up close, now Emma could see that the two people dressed as candy canes were Jorge and Griff.</p><p>“I get it now,” Emma smiled with pride. “Lou’s the Sugar Plum Fairy! She was always my favorite in the ballet. And that’s why she’s in the Land of Sweets!”</p><p>“Cool. But why’s everyone all bummed out,” Xander asked as the frowns of the snowflake children flashed in his mind. He looked at the candy cane dudes and they looked upset too.</p><p>“He’s gone forever!” Lou wailed before slamming her face into a strawberry shortcake. Whipped cream and strawberries splashed all over the table as she cried into the cake.</p><p>“That’s why,” Griff grumbled. </p><p>“She keeps ruining perfectly good cakes!” Jorge added angrily.</p><p>Emma snapped her fingers and nodded. “That’s why Ravi was dressed like that. Look, their costume designs match. He’s the Nutcracker Cavalier.”</p><p>“He’s the what?” Xander asked in confusion.</p><p>“The Sugar Plum Fairy and the Nutcracker Cavalier have a big dance number near the end of the ballet,” Emma explained. “He’s her dance partner.”</p><p>“Oh,” Xander drawled. “So, we have to get him back from Rat King Lydia so they can do their dance or whatever.”</p><p>“No!” Lou shouted as she lifted her head from the cake. She used both hands to wipe the dessert from her eyes. “You can’t! Ravi doesn’t want to see me ever again!”</p><p>“Oy, even here,” Emma said as she sat down beside her friend. “Lou, you’re in a dream where you are an actual fairy and the leader of all things sweet. What could’ve possibly gone wrong with you two here?”</p><p>“And this time, actually talk to us,” Xander said as he sat on the other side of Lou. “We’re your best friends and we love you. Tell us what happened.”</p><p>“So, we can help you,” Emma added with a small, encouraging smile.</p><p>Lou picked up a silk handkerchief from beside a plate of chocolates. She roughly wiped the cake off her face and then sighed. She looked from one friend to the other and then nodded.</p><p>“Our dance spread sweetness and joy throughout the land for years. So, we reasoned that if friendship could bring about such brightness then a relationship would shine even more! We were set to go on a romantic walk through the enchanted forest,” Lou explained as she pointed toward the river.</p><p>“That must’ve been where the flowers and violin music was,” Xander said.</p><p>“But he was like a starless night that led me to slumber,” Lou continued with a frown. “But that slumber was broken by the Rat King and her army, who caused me to chase them through the gumdrop fields.”</p><p>“Mmm, gumdrops,” Jorge hummed happily as he pulled a candy cane from his hair and began to snack on it.</p><p>“On my return, my Nutcracker Cavalier had reappeared. We plotted a different course for our journey to avoid the Rat King and that led us to the delightful sea of hot chocolate.” Lou scrunched her nose in annoyance. “Though it’s not delightful when lost in its murky depths. And I said as much and the quarreling began.” She got a faraway look in her eyes as she quietly finished her explanation, “And his voice rang out like a bell ending our dance.”</p><p>Emma opened her arms for a hug and Lou gladly accepted the embrace. Xander raised his eyebrows at Emma, but she gave him a look that said she had no idea what Lou was talking about either.</p><p>“They have no clue what you said,” Griff said loudly. “You were talking in fairy!”</p><p>“I don’t even know what she’s talking about,” Jorge said. “And I speak candy cane.”</p><p>“How’s candy cane like fairy?” Griff asked in a skeptical tone.</p><p>“It’s not,” Jorge shrugged.</p><p>Lou quickly released Emma. She stood from the table as tears ran down her face. She cried, “So you can’t help me?”</p><p>Jorge grabbed Xander’s arm and begged, “Please help her! If she starts crying then the river will flood again!’</p><p>“It’s all my fault,” Lou cried as she lowered herself to the ground, making the skirts of her white and gold dress spiral around her on the snowy ground.</p><p>“Help her,” Jorge begged again, shaking Xander’s arm. “She’s harshing my mellow!”</p><p>“And taste the food,” Griff said frantically. “It’s bland! Everything looks awesome but the taste sucks! And dude, feel the snow. It’s not even cold!”</p><p>“I knew it should’ve been cold!” Emma exclaimed.</p><p>Xander took a bite out of a red velvet cupcake. He grimaced and spit it out. “Gross! It does taste bad!”</p><p>“See! Without the pas de deux everything is off balance,” Jorge explained over Lou’s loud crying.</p><p>“Like at camp,” Emma said to Xander. She gave him a determined look. “I asked you if we should give up on Lou and Ravi if they don’t let us help them. But the answer, Xander, is no. We can’t give up.” </p><p>Xander nodded, “You’re right.” He turned to Jorge and asked, “Do you know where the Rat King took Ravi?”</p><p>Jorge swiped a gumball from a jar on the table. He chewed and chewed and then he blew a bubble the size of a hot air balloon. </p><p>“Whoa!” Xander exclaimed as he smiled at the massive bubblegum bubble.</p><p>“Just hold on to this and it’ll take you to him,” Jorge said as he held it out for Xander to take.</p><p>“And please,” Griff said, pointing back at Lou as she gave forlorn sobs, “fix this.”</p><p>Emma wrapped her arms around Xander as he took hold of the bubblegum balloon. Their feet slowly lifted off the ground. Xander held tighter to the bubblegum and Emma held tighter to Xander.</p><p>“Oh no,” Xander squeaked as he shut his eyes tight. “I’m afraid of heights!”</p><p>Emma giggled as they floated above the Land of Sweets. She saw the snowflake campers drifting in the river. She saw Zuri and Tiffany’s colorful dresses twirling in the enchanted forest. She saw the Rat King pointing her sword at Ravi as he balanced on the edge of a giant Christmas present box.</p><p>“There they are!” Emma shouted. </p><p>Her voice alerted the rat crew. The girls ran forward with their rat tails in hand, ready to attack once the couple landed. Emma glanced up at Xander, but his eyes were still closed because they were still descending. She gritted her teeth and took his sword. She glared down at the rats and held the sharp point forward.</p><p>The bubblegum balloon lowered Emma and Xander onto the glittery paper of the box. Emma held up the sword and gave a battle cry as the rats charged toward them. Xander finally opened his eyes and let go of the bubblegum balloon that he had been holding for dear life. It lazily floated away from them until POP. An explosion of sticky residue landed onto top of the rat crew. Emma lowered the sword and chuckled as they watched the girls try and fail to unstick themselves from the bubble gum.</p><p>“Help!” Ravi shouted from the edge of the present.</p><p>“Jump, geek! Into the void,” Lydia demanded as she jabbed her sword in his direction.</p><p>Ravi avoided being pierced by the sword but nearly lost his balance. He wobbled on the edge as he gave Emma and Xander a desperate look.</p><p>“Hey! Rat King!” Xander called out as he took his sword from Emma. “Rematch? Me and you!”</p><p>Lydia turned menacingly toward Xander. She glared at him and said through her teeth, “Bring it. I’ve waited a long time to defeat the Nutcracker Soldier.”</p><p>Ravi took that as his cue to frantically run toward Emma. He linked his arm with hers and watched the battle in front of them. Lydia moved swiftly and methodically as Xander blocked her advances with chaotic movements. She chased him up the giant bow that was tied at the center of the Christmas present box. Emma and Ravi watched as the battle intensified on top of the ribbon that towered above them.</p><p>“Oh no!” Ravi said in a frightened tone. “He is no match for her! She will surely send him tumbling from that great height.”</p><p>Emma nodded and frowned. “It doesn’t help that he keeps closing his eyes. Heights are just not his strong suit,” she said. Remembering the ballet, she shrugged Ravi from her arm and then balanced herself to remove her ballet slipper. “Please work,” she hoped. She ran forward and chucked the shoe as high and as far as she could. </p><p>The slipper hit the Rat King right in the head. Lydia dropped her sword and fell off the ribbon. She crashed onto the surface of the glitter box, shattering into pieces of shiny, grey glitter. Xander fainted on top of the ribbon. </p><p>“Yay!” Emma cheered. She bowed as Ravi applauded her. “Thank you! Oh, we better go get him. I don’t want him to wake up and then faint again.”</p><p>Ravi nodded and followed Emma to climb the ribbon. At the top, she retrieved her shoe and placed it back on her foot. Then she and her brother each wrapped one of Xander’s arms around their shoulders and carefully began to drag him down from the ribbon.</p><p>“Thank you so much for saving me,” Ravi said in a strained tone as they dragged Xander.</p><p>“No prob,” Emma said as she carefully watched her steps. “We’ve got to get you back to Lou for your dance.”</p><p>Ravi stopped walking, which caused Emma to stop. He said, “I cannot go back to the Sugar Plum Fairy. She hates me!”</p><p>“Here we go again,” Emma said. She continued walking, which made Ravi continue walking so that he wouldn’t cause Xander to fall. “Ravi, she doesn’t hate you! Stop being a baby and go talk to her about what happened.”</p><p>“You don’t get it,” Ravi pouted as he readjusted Xander’s arm around his shoulders. “I ruined what should’ve been the most magical day ever.”</p><p>“Tell us what happened,” Xander murmured in a drowsy tone. “But in like a regular way. As plain as you can make it.”</p><p>“Plain?” Ravi asked.</p><p>“We don’t speak fairy,” Emma said. She quickly added, “Or candy cane.”</p><p>“Uh… okay,” Ravi said. “Let’s see…” He thought for a moment. He sighed, “To put it plainly, I embarrassed myself so much that I took my frustration out on her.”</p><p>“You got in an argument?” Emma asked as they all took the final step from the ribbon. They stepped around the grey glitter on the flat surface of the box. </p><p>He looked at his friends with sorrowful eyes. “No, not the argument. I yelled at her,” Ravi sadly confessed. “I’m so sorry. She’ll never forgive me.” </p><p>Xander gave him a sympathetic look. He patted his friend on the shoulder and said, “Avoiding her isn’t going to make things better. Especially when she thinks it’s her fault.”</p><p>“She does?” Ravi asked in shock. “That’s terrible! The fault is entirely mine. How could she think that?”</p><p>“How is she supposed to know that if you won’t talk to her,” Emma said gently.</p><p>Ravi nodded as he stared off into the distance. “We must go to her immediately,” he said determinedly. “She must not blame herself for something that’s my fault.”</p><p>“But the bubble popped,” Xander said. “How are we supposed to get back?”</p><p>Ravi jogged over to the grey glitter. He scooped some into his hands and then rejoined his friends. The couple made faces at the sparkly dust. He said, “The ashes of the Rat King will transport us to wherever our heart desires.”</p><p>“Ew,” Emma and Xander said simultaneously.</p><p>Ravi rolled his eyes and threw the dust into the air above them. Emma blinked and suddenly she, Xander, and Ravi were standing in the Land of Sweets. Lou stood up from the ground and gazed at Ravi.</p><p>“You’re here,” she hiccupped.</p><p>“I should’ve never left,” he said as he ran toward her with his arms wide.</p><p>Lou mirrored his posture and ran toward him as well. They hugged, smiling and laughing merrily. </p><p>“It was all my fault,” Ravi said as he held her hands and gazed lovingly into her eyes.</p><p>“No, it was my fault,” Lou said, giving him the same lovesick look.</p><p>“Not at all,” Ravi said as he gave her another hug. He leaned away slightly and asked, “Shall we dance?”</p><p>“We shall,” Lou agreed with a grin.</p><p>Emma squealed. She squeezed Xander’s arm as she gazed happily at her friends. Snowflakes fell and landed delicately on her arms. She shivered. “O.M.G!” she exclaimed. “Xander, the snow! It’s cold again!”</p><p>“We did it,” Xander cheered as he picked Emma up in a hug and twirled her around.<br/>
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Emma awoke to the sounds of Gladys shouting at the projector about never finding love. Her eyes fluttered open to the sight of campers and counselors lounging on the Great Lawn as a holiday movie played out on the screen. She slowly lifted her head from Xander’s shoulder. </p><p>“Hey, sleepy head,” Xander said good-naturedly as he smiled at his girlfriend. “Enjoy your nap?”</p><p>Emma blinked and asked, “Did you not have the same dream?”</p><p>Xander shook his head. “No… I tried to fall asleep,” he gave her a sheepish look, “But you were snoring too loud.”</p><p>Emma gasped, “I don’t snore!” She was about to argue some more but then she remembered her dream. “I know what to do about Lou and Ravi!”</p><p>“Our plan didn’t really work out earlier,” Xander replied. </p><p>“Trust me,” Emma said as she stood up from the blanket. “Bring Ravi to my cabin. And don’t take no for an answer.”</p><p>“Sit down and shut up!” Hazel shouted at Emma.</p><p>Emma rolled her eyes and hurried to Woodchuck cabin. When she walked into the room, she saw Lou staring out the window to see the movie screen. </p><p>“I knew you wanted to watch the movie,” Emma said with a knowing look as she sat down beside Lou.</p><p>Her friend didn’t respond. She just turned away from the window and hugged her stuffed woodchuck. Emma waited for Xander to show up, which didn’t take long. He walked into the cabin with Ravi tossed over his shoulder, kicking and shouting.</p><p>“Whoa!” Lou said as she stood up and looked at Xander and Ravi like they were crazy. “What in the ranch dressing is going on?”</p><p>Xander placed Ravi on the ground and exhaled. He said to Emma, “You said don’t take no for an answer.”</p><p>Ravi straightened his sweater and glared at Xander. He fussed, “I didn’t enjoy being manhandled by someone I thought was my pal.” He moved toward the door.</p><p>“I am your pal,” Xander said as he blocked the exit. </p><p>“Look,” Emma said, “I know this is hard. But you two have to talk.” She turned to her brother and asked, “Ravi, did you yell at Lou?”</p><p>The room was silent. Ravi’s eyes turned sorrowful as he looked from Emma to Lou. He dropped his chin and his shoulders sagged. Lou watched his posture change and it made her loosen her grip on her stuffed woodchuck. Xander leaned against the door.</p><p>“Yes…” Ravi confessed. “And I’m so sorry.”</p><p>“Wait, this whole thing is about an argument?” Xander asked. “Dude, Emma yells at me all the time.”</p><p>“Do not!” Emma yelled. She cleared her throat and said in a calmer tone, “Do not.”</p><p>“See,” Xander said good-naturedly.</p><p>“But I shouldn’t have yelled at you,” Ravi said, mostly ignoring what Xander had said as he stepped closer to Lou. “I ruined our first date.”</p><p>Lou tossed Mr. Woodchuck aside and stepped closer to Ravi. “No, it’s my fault. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said those things,” Lou apologized. “I don’t think you’re a ‘no-good, dang fool.’” </p><p>“Harsh language,” Emma gasped with a hand to her chest. </p><p>“I said a bunch of other stuff too,” Lou said with her eyes downcast. “I was just so annoyed.”</p><p>“And you had every right to be!” Ravi spoke up as he held his hands out to her. “First, I showed up to our date so late.” </p><p>Lou held his hands and pouted as she looked into his eyes, “Yeah, where were you?”</p><p>“Jorge locked me in the bathroom because I made him finish his chores,” Ravi answered.</p><p>“I knew he seemed too giggly that day,” Xander said as he thought back to the incident. “I just thought he’d heard someone fart.”</p><p>“How long did you wait for him?” Emma asked as she propped Mr. Woodchuck back on the nightstand.<br/>
“An hour,” Lou muttered shyly.</p><p>“An hour! I’d never wait that long for a guy,” Emma said. “Especially Ravi. I had to pick him up from the museum one time but he took so long that I just left him there.”</p><p>“I was only late five minutes that day and it was pouring rain,” Ravi said to his sister in an annoyed tone. He shifted his attention back to Lou and said, “When I finally escaped the bathroom and made it to the trail and didn’t see you, I was so worried.”</p><p>“Aw, you were,” Lou cooed as she squeezed his hands. She scrunched her nose and said, “Those dang Weasels stole my picnic basket. See, while I was waiting, I dozed off. I woke up when they yanked the basket from my hands.”</p><p>“I didn’t know you had prepared a picnic,” Ravi said. “When I found you walking along the path you demanded hot chocolate and barely spoke to me.”</p><p>“I was just embarrassed because I messed up our picnic. Well, the Weasels messed up our picnic. But if I wouldn’t have fallen asleep, they wouldn’t have stolen the basket.”</p><p>“You wouldn’t have fallen asleep if I hadn’t been late,” Ravi said.</p><p>“So, it was all a misunderstanding,” Emma said brightly.</p><p>Ravi gave them all a sheepish look as he said, “Not everything. I mean, I still spilled hot chocolate all over her at the coffee shop.”</p><p>“Which burned like heck,” Lou added.</p><p>“And I accidentally pushed her into the lake…”</p><p>“That explains why she had all the lake gunk in her hair,” Emma said as she grimaced.</p><p>“Which took all week to get out,” Lou said as she sniffed her hair. “Almost a week. And that’s why we keep the campers from that side of the lake.”</p><p>“Not to mention the argument we got in on the way back,” Ravi said. He gently let go of Lou’s hands and took a step back. “That day...all I could think about was that I was ruining the one chance I had to impress you. I was so afraid of you changing your mind about going out with me that I kept making things worse. And then I panicked and yelled at you.” He sighed as he looked at her with sad eyes. “And then I panicked again. All week. I avoided you because I was too afraid to hear you say that you never wanted to go out with me again.”</p><p>Lou whispered, “Me too.”</p><p>“You were?” he asked her with a shocked expression. </p><p>“I really like you, Ravi,” she said.</p><p>“I really, really like you, Lou,” he replied.</p><p>“Aww!” Emma squealed as she smiled at her friends. “This is too cute! See you both like each other! You’re made to be partners! Like the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Nutcracker Cavalier.”</p><p>“I don’t know what that means,” Lou said with a smile as she gazed at Ravi.</p><p>“Me either,” Xander said. He opened the door and motioned for Emma to walk over. “But I think you two can finish talking without us.”</p><p>“But they’re so sweet and we worked really hard to get them to talk,” Emma said as Xander walked over to take her by the hand.</p><p>“And we appreciate it,” Ravi said with a smile as he kept his eyes on Lou’s. “Thanks, Emma.”</p><p>“Yeah, thanks, bestie,” Lou said in a dream-like tone.</p><p>Xander had moved Emma closer to the door, but she snatched her hand away. She huffed, “See, they want me to stay.”</p><p>“No, he’s right. Get out,” Ravi said over his shoulder.</p><p>“Rude,” Emma huffed as Xander pulled her out of the cabin and back to movie night.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Mistletoe Barn</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Everyone knew about the Camp Kikiwaka barn this summer because it had finally been renovated and actually useful. During previous summers, it had been an abandoned mess of old wood and busted windows that all campers, CITs, and counselors avoided or ignored. But after the fire that Hazel caused burned down some of the cabins last summer, Gladys used some of the insurance money to restore the barn into a rentable venue during the fall and winter months when the summer camp was closed. A lot more “chatting” had been taking place at the barn now that it was charming and rustic and more secluded than the Spot. There had also been a holiday party back in December when Gladys had rented it out to a couple for a Christmas day wedding and some of the decorations were still hanging up in July. One of those decorations happened to be fake mistletoe, which gave a lot of excuses for kissing.</p><p>“So, are you saying that you do think I can get this whole box of raisins up my nose?” Jorge asked Ravi. They were both in the Grizzly cabin. Jorge was bouncing on a mini trampoline he had brought to camp.</p><p>“No!” Ravi said sternly as he swiped the raisins from the camper’s hand. </p><p>“Hey!” Jorge whined as he stopped bouncing. “I thought you were going to be more fun this year now that you’re a counselor?”</p><p>“Avoiding a trip to the infirmary to pick raisins from your nose sounds like fun to me,” Ravi said flatly. He walked over to the small table in their cabin and sat down in a folding chair. “Join me in putting together this cat puzzle.”</p><p>“Pass,” Jorge replied as he bounced from his miniature trampoline to his bed. He shuffled around until he was comfortable and then opened up his King Tut Jones graphic novel. </p><p>The door to their cabin opened and Xander walked in whistling a tune that was stuck in his head. There was a football tucked under his arm and he was a bit sweaty. He tossed the ball into the corner and flopped down on his bunk.</p><p>“Why are you all sweaty?” Jorge asked with his glasses peeking over the book.</p><p>“He was obviously playing football,” Ravi said as he matched puzzle pieces together.</p><p>“Nah, the sweats from running away from Hazel,” Xander corrected. “I just found that ball on the way here.” He sat up and said to Ravi, “Oh, dude, I ran into Lou. She wants you to meet her at the barn…”</p><p>Jorge tossed his book to the side to squeal, “Ooo!” He scooted to the edge of his bunk and made kissy faces at Ravi. </p><p>Ravi’s face heated. He purposely avoided looking at Jorge and focused his attention on Xander. He asked, “Whatever for? Does she need help with something?”</p><p>Xander smirked, “I’m thinking it’s mistletoe related.”</p><p>Jorge burst into giggles, falling back against his pillows and kicking his feet. Xander couldn’t help but join in laughing too. Ravi looked embarrassed. He crossed his arms and glanced at the table. He hadn’t gotten far with the puzzle but the cat on the box looked to be smirking at him as well.</p><p>“Don’t be ridiculous,” Ravi huffed.</p><p>Xander cleared his chuckles. “All jokes aside, I really did run into her and she really did ask me to tell you to meet her there. She didn’t say why. But to be fair, I didn’t ask why either.”</p><p>“Lou wants to kiss Ravi,” Jorge sang. “Lou wants to kiss Ravi!”</p><p>“No, she doesn’t!” Ravi replied more frantically than he had meant to. He would normally ignore Jorge’s teasing, but this was difficult to ignore. He was sure that no one knew he had a crush on Lou and he didn’t want to give anyone a reason to suspect that he did. He stood up from the folding chair and calmly said, “I’m going for a walk.”</p><p>Jorge wiggled his eyebrows and asked, “To the barn?”</p><p>“To the lake,” Ravi said sternly as he shut the door behind him.</p><p>It was a nice day out. The weather was warm but not too hot and everyone seemed to be happy as he passed by his fellow campers on the Great Lawn. Well, almost everyone that he passed by looked happy. He tried to turn and rush in the opposite direction when he saw her, but she grabbed him by the back of his shirt and dragged him over to a picnic table.</p><p>“Where’s my Xandy?” Hazel demanded. He noticed that she was wearing a Santa hat and her suspenders were red with little, green Christmas trees. </p><p>“Uh, well... he is, uh,” Ravi stammered nervously.</p><p>“Don’t you lie to me,” she said in a low, threatening tone as she shoved her finger in his face.<br/>“Why are you dressed so festive?” He deflected her question. Sure, he was slightly peeved at Xander for making up the story about Lou wanting to meet him in the mistletoe barn, but he didn’t want to send Hazel after him. </p><p>Hazel’s face brightened with a peppy smile and she bounced on her toes. “It’s like the song,” she answered. She tilted her head to the side and sang, “I saw Xandy kissing Santa Claus underneath the mistletoe last night! What a sight it would’ve been, if Emma would’ve seen Xandy kissing Santa Claus last night!” </p><p>A group of young girls at the picnic table opposite of them giggled and clapped. Hazel bowed dramatically and waved at her audience. She turned back to Ravi and said, “I’m Santa Claus.”</p><p>“I got that,” Ravi replied. </p><p>Hazel crossed her arms and glared at him. She said, “And even if you won’t tell me where Xandy is, I have to wait until it’s my turn at the barn. That bossy Woodchuck of yours called dibs before me.”</p><p>“Bossy Woodchuck?”</p><p>Hazel rolled her eyes and uncrossed her arms. “Lou wants to kiss you. Ugh, gross.”</p><p>“No, she doesn’t!” Ravi said automatically. His heartbeat sped up, but he knew it was ridiculous for it to do so. Hazel was obviously in on the joke that Xander was playing on him earlier. </p><p>“Yes, she does,” Hazel said in a bored tone. She shoved him and added, “So hurry up! I’m next! As soon as I find Xandy…”</p><p>Dumbstruck, Ravi watched Hazel skip away. His brain was fuzzy with a million thoughts but none of them would stick. A frisbee hit him in the back, breaking him out of his stupor. He picked up the disk and walked it over to the kids who were playing. They thanked him but he just mumbled a reply and walked toward the forest, not the lake.</p><p>The path from where the cabins were located to the renovated barn meandered through the forest. He passed through the Spot and the large tree that he and his friends had climbed to escape a forest creature during his first year at camp two years ago. When he was in view of the outside of the barn, he froze. Why did he walk to the barn? He knew it was a prank. There was no way that the person he admired most was waiting under the mistletoe to kiss him.</p><p>“Don’t be stupid,” Ravi said to himself as he stared at the building. “Lou doesn’t want to kiss you.”</p><p>“Yes, she does,” he heard a voice say.</p><p>He yelped and turned to see Zuri and Tiffany standing behind him. One was holding a bucket of fruit and vegetables while the other was holding a cage. </p><p>“Why are you carrying food and a cage?” Ravi asked, pointing at the supplies.</p><p>“We’re going to catch something,” Tiffany answered cheerfully.</p><p>“And train it to attack our enemies,” Zuri said with a grin. Tiffany nodded in agreement. </p><p>“Of course you are,” Ravi replied. He knew the responsible thing would be to put an end to the girls’ quest, but he knew they’d ignore him anyway and he honestly wanted their interaction with him to be brief. He didn’t want them to ask why he was near the barn.</p><p>“Why aren’t you at the barn?” Zuri asked as she twirled the bucket in her hands.</p><p>He gulped. He felt his face heat with embarrassment. He didn’t want to tell his little sister and his best friend that he was foolish enough to fall for a stupid prank because he had a crush on their counselor. </p><p>“You better hurry up,” Tiffany said. “I heard Hazel’s looking for Xander and singing some creepy song. If she gets to him before Emma can find her bear repellent then she’s going to hog the barn and Lou’s going to be upset.”</p><p>Ravi stared blankly at the girls. It finally dawned on him that they had heard his earlier question to himself and had answered it with the implication that Lou wanted to kiss him. His brain couldn’t process the information.</p><p>Zuri put down the bucket and punched him in the arm.</p><p>“Ow!” He shouted and rubbed his shoulder.</p><p>“You were freaking me out! Why are you just standing there staring at us?” Zuri said as she lifted up her bucket of fruits and veggies. “Come on, Tiffany. If we stand here too long, we’ll catch stupid.”</p><p>Tiffany scrunched her nose and shook her head at Ravi. “If being this weird is what I have to look forward to by the time I become a counselor then I’d prefer to stop aging now,” she said.</p><p>“Ew, I know,” Zuri agreed. “All any of the counselors want to do is be under that stupid fake mistletoe. Who cares! It’s not like you’re making gains off the market or opening offshore accounts.”</p><p>“Yeah! Or hacking into the library’s crummy system to change the overdue dates on your eBooks,” Tiffany snorted.</p><p>Ravi didn’t have a response. He couldn’t believe how many people were involved in the prank to embarrass him at the barn. Zuri and Tiffany shrugged at his silence and strolled away, off to capture whatever. Ravi blinked. He slowly turned to stare at the barn, a short distance away. He thought about going back to his cabin. If he didn’t actually go inside the barn then none of them could say that their prank had worked. But his feet wouldn’t move. His crush on Lou made the hope in his heart whisper nonsense like maybe she did want to kiss him and maybe she did like him as much as he liked her.</p><p>“Or maybe she did ask Xander to have me meet her at the barn for a chore,” he said aloud to himself. He slowly walked through the overgrown grass toward the barn. “She does often ask for my help… I helped her with giving out mail yesterday. And we built that house out of popsicle sticks last weekend for Bunny cabin…”</p><p>By the time he stepped into the barn, he had convinced himself that Lou simply needed help with a task in the barn such as removing the Christmas decorations or cleaning the windows. He had even dismissed the idea that Xander and his friends were playing a prank on him. Inside the barn, there were bistro lights strung along the high ceiling. Also around the room were bunches of faux mistletoe. However, there was no sign of Lou.</p><p>“Lou!” He called out and spun in a circle in the quiet barn. There was no answer. He walked around. He checked for her behind a stack of tables and chairs. He looked inside two of the closets. She wasn’t there.</p><p>“Ravi… you’ve been pranked,” he sighed to himself. His heart sank. If his friends picked this as their prank, did that mean they knew how he felt about Lou? He put his hand over his face and groaned. Why didn’t he stay in his cabin and finish the silly cat puzzle?</p><p>He didn’t notice when Lou walked into the cabin carrying a blue raspberry slushie. She sipped on her drink and cringed when it gave her a brain freeze. She had talked to Xander over an hour and a half ago and had decided to get a drink while she waited.<br/>For Ravi, the worst part of all was that for a tiny second, he wanted to believe that Lou had asked Xander to summon him for mistletoe purposes. He decided that Zuri and Tiffany were right: being older made you weirder and more concerned with mistletoe than things that were actually important. He should go back, make a plan to invest and work on his programming skills.</p><p>“That’s useful and important,” he mumbled to himself as he stared at the ground. “Focus on that...and not the fact that Lou doesn’t want to kiss you.”</p><p>Lou smacked her lips, enjoying the refreshing sweetness of her drink. She walked up to Ravi, who finally looked up and noticed her. She smiled at him and said, “What? Yes, I do.”</p><p>Ravi stared at her. He glanced around the barn to see if there was anyone else that he hadn’t noticed. But it was just his crush standing in front of him with a sweet smile and bright eyes. He could smell the sugary blueberry slushie in the oversized cup she was holding. </p><p>“Did I… miss something?” Ravi asked in confusion.</p><p>Lou shook her head. “Nope. You like me, right?”</p><p>Ravi’s heart stopped. He panicked. She knew! He had thought he had been so careful with not giving away his feelings, but apparently, she was wise to his affection for her. He tried to think of excuses but he couldn’t voice any of them.</p><p>“You’re looking at me like a deer caught in headlights, so I’m gonna take that as a yes,” she said. She walked over to a corner and threw away her drink. “You’re late, so I expect Hazel to barge in and annoy us at any moment.”</p><p>“Late?” Ravi asked, finally able to speak.</p><p>Lou smiled softly at him and pointed up at a bundle of mistletoe. Ravi’s heart restarted and it was going a million miles a minute. She slowly returned to where he stood and tucked her hair behind her ear. He wanted to burn the memory of the way her eyes were shining in his direction into his brain. He glanced at her lips. He had never been a fan of blue raspberry but it was a sacrifice he was more than willing to make.</p><p>“It’s tradition to kiss under the mistletoe,” Lou said above a whisper. “And there’s a lot of mistletoe in this barn.”</p><p>They both leaned forward. Ravi anticipated the greatest moment of his life. He knew it would be everything he had imagined and all that he could hope for.</p><p>“Time’s up!” Hazel shouted as she stomped into the barn with some random counselor. </p><p>“Seriously!” Ravi fussed. He angrily exhaled the breath he had been holding.</p><p>“I couldn’t find Xandy, so Brandon will have to do,” Hazel announced.</p><p>“I’m Bobby,” the counselor corrected as he casually swung their hands.</p><p>“Sure,” Hazel replied nonchalantly.</p><p>Lou stepped back from Ravi and glared at Hazel. “Can’t you and Bobby go to the Spot?”</p><p>“Can’t you,” Hazel huffed as she plopped down on the blanket someone had left behind. Bobby stumbled and fell on his butt. He winced in pain. She grimaced at her date. “Shesh, Brandon. Don’t be so clumsy.” </p><p>Lou put her hands on her hips and said, “You know it’s Ravi’s first kiss. He would want privacy. Not a bunch of campers running through the Spot with water guns filled with fish pee.”</p><p>Ravi wasn’t offended. Instead, he looked at Lou in awe. His heart filled with admiration for the person standing beside him. She cared that much about his first kiss? And she wasn’t bothered by the fact that he hadn’t ever kissed anyone. Of course, she wasn’t. It was Lou. She was sweet and understanding and kind. He was so enamored of her that he couldn’t help but react. </p><p>“Lou?” </p><p>“Not now, Ravi. I’m not going to let Crazel…”</p><p>She didn’t get to finish her sentence. He kissed her. It was quick, but it made her forget everything she was about to say. Her mouth that had been cold from the slushie was now warm and tingly. He gave her a shy smile and held her hand.</p><p>“I do like you,” Ravi confessed.</p><p>“I like you too,” Lou cooed as she gave him a goofy smile. </p><p>“Eww! Gross,” Hazel scoffed. She made gagging noises and pretended to barf.</p><p>Suddenly, Lou’s face turned serious. She gently let go of Ravi’s hand. Glaring at the intruders, she stomped up to Hazel and Brandon.</p><p>“What are you…” Hazel scowled.</p><p>Lou hoisted Brandon over her shoulder and carried him out of the barn. Hazel scrambled onto her feet and shouted for Lou to bring him back. Ravi watched the three of them exit the barn. He couldn’t see where Lou took Brandon, but he heard Hazel continue to argue. Then silence. A moment later, Lou returned and shut the barn doors behind her.</p><p>“Is everything okay?” Ravi asked as he stared at the doors, expecting Hazel to barge in again.</p><p>“I threatened to get my chainsaw,” Lou said sweetly. She walked up to him and stopped with her nose an itch away from his. “So… about this mistletoe…”</p><p>Ravi amended his previous stance on mistletoe. It was most certainly more important than most things.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Disclaimer: I do not own Bunk'd. This oneshot was inspired by a tumblr meme for Rogue One, which I also do not own.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Christmas Lights</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>For the second year in a row, there was a Christmas celebration at the Camp Kikiwaka mess hall. The campers, CITs, and counselors had enjoyed the holiday party that the Woodchucks and Grizzlies had arranged for Griff last year that they persuaded Gladys to let them put on the event every year. Gladys was mostly in it for the lumberjack that Emma hired to act as Santa during the party, but everyone always had a great time. It’s just that after the party each year, no one wanted to help clean up. And there was always a ton to clean up: the giant tree with its loads of decorations; the garland intertwined with red ribbon that draped every window and door; and worse of all were all the lights everywhere.</p><p>Lou and Ravi were the only ones left cleaning up the mess hall when the party ended. The good news was that even though it had taken what felt like forever, they had finally gathered all of the lights. The bad news was that Lou had tripped over a forgotten Christmas gift and fell into one of the largest bins of lights. The worse news was that when Ravi had tried to help her out, he ended up entangling both her and himself in a mess of Christmas lights. </p><p>“Perhaps we should try hopping towards the door again?” Ravi suggested. They were tied side by side as they slouched on a bench across from the pool table. </p><p>“No,” Lou said, giving him an incredulous look. “Do you not remember the fiasco of even getting to this bench? We’re waiting here until someone shows up to free us.”</p><p>Ravi whined, “But it’s already been half an hour.”</p><p>They heard footsteps and both turned to see Zuri stroll into the mess hall. She was wearing reindeer antlers.</p><p>“Thank goodness you’re here, Zuri,” Lou cheered. “You mind helping us out?”</p><p>Zuri crossed the room and stood in front of the two counselors. Christmas lights were tightly wound around their shoulders. Lou had tinsel in her hair. Ravi had a candy cane stuck to the side of his face. Zuri burst into a fit of giggles. She had to hold her tummy as she bent over with laughter.</p><p>“Ha ha. It’s so funny,” Ravi said flatly. “Now please get us out of these lights.”</p><p>“Oh, no,” Zuri giggled as she straightened her posture. She smirked at them, “It’s payback time.”</p><p>“Payback?” Lou and Ravi asked simultaneously. </p><p>Zuri crossed her arms and gave Lou a pointed look. She said, “Someone told Emma that I took her silver earrings and gave them away as a Secret Santa gift.”</p><p>“Great going, Lou. You double-crossed Zuri,” Ravi said in an accusatory tone.</p><p>Lou tried to hit him by nudging her shoulder against his, which didn’t do anything because they were already so close together. She said to Zuri, “I didn’t tell her! You gave me the earrings cause you were my Secret Santa and she recognized them.” Lou pouted and added, “Which by the way, hurtful! I’d expect a little more effort from my fellow Woodchuck.”</p><p>“It’s hard to shop around here,” Zuri argued back. “It was the earrings or a can of bait.”</p><p>“I would’ve loved bait,” Lou said as the tinsel glistened in her hair.</p><p>“That’s true. She would’ve,” Ravi agreed with a nod. He gave his sister a pleading look and asked, “And what did I do to deserve payback?”</p><p>Zuri shrugged. She yanked the candy cane from his face, causing him to yelp in pain. She tossed it over her shoulder and said, “Nothing, I guess. But one day you might and I may as well get you back for it now.”</p><p>Lou struggled in the lights as she demanded, “Zuri let us out of these Christmas lights!”</p><p>“Stop struggling, Lou! Last time our noses got dangerously close. What if one of us would’ve sneezed? That would be disastrous.”</p><p>Lou froze. Her face heated up and she looked up at the ceiling. She muttered, “We weren’t that close.”</p><p>“I distinctly remember your breath on my face. You had onions with your dinner,” Ravi said as he scrunched his nose. “And sauerkraut.” </p><p>“Ew,” Zuri said as she stuck out her tongue. “Do you want that candy cane back? Or a breath mint?”</p><p>“I want to get out of these lights!” Lou grumbled as her face felt like it was on fire from embarrassment. “Zuri, come on!”</p><p>Zuri tapped her chin as she watched the two counselors. She studied the embarrassed look on Lou’s face. She noticed the way Ravi kept glancing over at Lou every few seconds. She picked up the forgotten Christmas present from the floor and shook it. “You know what, Lou? You’re right. You deserve a better gift from me. Not only am I your Secret Santa,” she tossed the box onto the pool table and picked up one of the cords attached to Lou and Ravi, “I’m your friend.”</p><p>Zuri tugged the long cord. It reached the outlet without pulling Lou or Ravi. She plugged it in and the lights that were looped around the counselors lit up in red, yellow, and green lights.</p><p>“Pretty,” Zuri said cheerfully as she walked towards the mess hall entrance.</p><p>“How is this a better gift?” Lou called out as she watched Zuri stop in the doorway.</p><p>Zuri said nonchalantly, “You have a crush on my lame brother.”</p><p>Without another word, Zuri casually walked away. Lou glanced at Ravi, but his eyes were focused on the door. She shifted her attention to the orange glow outside. The sun was setting. Dinner had been served during the holiday party, so the chance of anyone coming by for food was slim. She hoped someone else came by and soon. But she was starting to doubt anyone would when most people were avoiding the mess hall so they wouldn’t have to help clean up.</p><p>“How long until these lights start to burn from being on?” Lou asked as she glared at the outlet.</p><p>“Give or take fifteen minutes,” Ravi answered in a bored tone.</p><p>“I really hate these lights…”</p><p>They sat quietly for a while. Both watched the bright lights twisting around them shine. The lights seemed brighter once the sun finally set outside. </p><p>“You know, Lou...” Ravi said, breaking the silence. He raised his eyebrows at her, “If you have a crush on me…”</p><p>“I don’t,” Lou said flatly.</p><p>Ravi folded his lips and nodded. After a moment he said, “I figured as much.”</p><p>Lou sighed. She had already been embarrassed when Zuri let the cat out of the bag. There wasn’t much point in not telling the whole truth. Besides, there was nothing else to do but talk and she really didn’t want to hear another story about his friend’s improv group. “At least I don’t anymore,” Lou clarified.</p><p>“What?” Ravi tried to shift in her direction but the motion just ended up tightening the lights around them.</p><p>“Ow! Careful!” Lou shouted. She wiggled her shoulders as much as she could. “Yeah, I had a crush on you, but that was forever ago.”</p><p>“Forever ago when?” Ravi stammered. He gasped, “And you didn’t tell me!”</p><p>Lou rolled her eyes and leaned against the table behind the bench they were seated on. Her movement caused him to lean as well. She said, “It’s not like it was a big deal, Ravi.” </p><p>“Uh, yes, it is,” he said in an exaggerated tone. “When?”</p><p>“It was your first year here.”</p><p>“My first year!” Ravi bent his shoulders forward and strained to turn and look back at her. “And you didn’t say anything?” he asked, exasperated.</p><p>“Are you kidding? I was so obvious,” Lou argued as she sat up straight. It caused him to do the same and they were able to look each other in the eye. “I asked you to be my fishing partner that year for the big competition.”</p><p>“Yeah, I presumed that was because Xander was already taken,” Ravi replied without hesitation.</p><p>“So you remember?” Lou blinked.</p><p>“Of course, I remember. Just like I remember you not having a crush on me.”</p><p>Lou narrowed her eyes at him. She said, “I’m telling you that I did. And what about that jungle gym we built back then? I asked you to help me build it for Bunny cabin.”</p><p>“We argued the entire time,” Ravi said. “And you broke your arm.”</p><p>“I did, didn’t I,” Lou chuckled. “Guess I forgot about that part. I’ve broken a lot of bones over the years. It’s dangerous growing up on a farm.”</p><p>Ravi chuckled. Lou noticed how his breath smelled like candy canes. She hoped the onion and sauerkraut on her breath had faded by now. </p><p>“The jungle gym didn’t get built and Bunny cabin was peeved,” Ravi said. “But I did have fun.” He smiled at her and noticed the way the Christmas lights made her eyes shine. He cleared his throat and added, “Although, it didn’t seem like a crush situation.”</p><p>“How about how I always sat beside you at the campfires?” Lou said, remembering how often she made sure to get the spot beside him that year. Now they just always seemed to be together without her plotting for it to happen.</p><p>“I thought that was because you felt sorry for me for not making many friends that year,” Ravi said honestly.</p><p>“No. I mean, yeah you weren’t the most popular CIT. But I didn’t care about that. I cared that whenever you got scared during the campfire stories, you’d hug me real tight,” Lou joked and wiggled her eyebrows at him.</p><p>He laughed and looked away from her as his face heated. Lou smirked at his reaction and tried again to wiggle free of the lights. She stopped when she heard Tiffany and Jorge talking as they walked into the mess hall.</p><p>“Tiffany!”</p><p>“Jorge!”</p><p>The two campers chuckled as they approached Lou and Ravi. Tiffany was wearing earrings shaped like snowflakes. Jorge wore a tiny Santa hat that was pinned neatly at an angle on his head.</p><p>“You guys look like idiots,” Jorge teased as he pointed his finger at them and laughed.</p><p>“And that’s coming from him,” Tiffany quipped as she jutted her thumb in Jorge’s direction.</p><p>“We’ve been stuck like this for an hour. Please help untangle us,” Lou begged. She was starting to sweat from the heat of the Christmas lights.</p><p>“But unplug them first,” Ravi said. “We’re starting to melt.”</p><p>Tiffany went over to the outlet and yanked out the cord. Lou sighed in relief as the lights turned off. Jorge inspected the lights from a distance but didn’t make a move to help the counselors.</p><p>“Alright, Jorge. Please help us free,” Ravi said as he scooted forward on the bench, making Lou do the same.</p><p>“Sure,” Jorge said in an impish tone. “But first...who’s your best friend. Me or Tiffany?”</p><p>“Me, obviously,” Tiffany said as she crossed her arms and stood beside Jorge. “Right, Ravi?”</p><p>“No, it’s me,” Jorge argued. “Right, Ravi?”</p><p>Ravi’s eyes shifted back and forth between the two campers. He could still feel the beads of sweat on his forehead from the hot lights. He said, “Uh...we are all best friends.” </p><p>He relaxed when it seemed like the two were satisfied with his answer, but then Lou spoke.</p><p>“Can you really have like five best friends?” she said matter-of-factly.</p><p>Ravi wanted to glare at her but he kept his cool and gave the campers a nervous smile. Tiffany kept her arms crossed. Jorge didn’t look amused.</p><p>“She’s right,” Tiffany said. “Now tell the booger eater that you and I are best friends.”</p><p>“I haven’t eaten any boogers this year!” Jorge argued. “Well...this month,” he corrected. “But these habits are hard to break, Tiff.”</p><p>“Ew,” Tiffany muttered as she took a step to the side to distance herself from Jorge. Her snowflake earrings bobbed along.</p><p>“He’s not wrong,” Lou said. “I’ve been trying to cut back on the fancy cheeses, but they’re just so dang good. But I get bloated every time.”</p><p>Jorge chortled as he said, “Lou said cut the cheese.”</p><p>Ravi glanced at Lou as she chuckled along. He smiled at the way she laughed and then quickly looked away. He focused his attention on Tiffany and Jorge. “As my best friends,” he started, “do you remember our collective first year at Camp Kikiwaka?”</p><p>“Yep, like it was two years ago,” Jorge said with a smile.</p><p>“It was two years ago,” Tiffany said, rolling her eyes. </p><p>“Why?” Jorge asked brightly.</p><p>Lou gave Ravi a side-eye look. She asked, “You’re not really going to ask them, are you?”</p><p>“This is important,” Ravi argued. “There’s no way that I could’ve missed you having a crush on me.”</p><p>“Remember when Tiffany had a crush on you!” Jorge laughed as he nudged Tiffany with his elbow.</p><p>She swatted his elbow away and said through her teeth, “We do not speak of that. I was a child with no taste back then.”</p><p>“Hey!” Ravi said in offense as he slouched on the bench. Some of the bulbs pressed into his back as they were trapped between him and the table.</p><p>Tiffany ignored him and said, “And I knew Lou had a crush on you.”</p><p>“Ha! Told ya,” Lou said with a triumphant shout. She slouched on the bench as well to loosen the strain of the lights. </p><p>“I figured she’d come to her senses like I did,” Tiffany explained as she uncrossed her arms. </p><p>Jorge raised an eyebrow as he tilted his head and said, “Lou had a crush on Ravi? Wow, I thought the strong and silent kinda guy was more her type. You know, guys like me.” He shrugged and gave Ravi a pointed look. “Back to the important stuff. Who’s your best friend?”</p><p>“Uh...Perhaps you two could help Lou and me out of this mishap first and then we can discuss the matter,” Ravi fumbled over his words. </p><p>“Clearly our friendship isn’t as special as I thought,” Jorge said with his nose in the air. “And after all we’ve been through.”</p><p>“Same,” Tiffany huffed.</p><p>“Come on, Tiff. We don’t need this,” Jorge said as he offered her his arm. </p><p>“I haven’t seen you wash your hands all day,” Tiffany said to Jorge as she refused to take his arm. “But I agree. Let’s go.” She turned on the heel of her sneakers and Jorge followed behind her. </p><p>“Wait! Don’t leave me!” Lou shouted as she squirmed around on the bench. “I don’t have commitment issues!”</p><p>“Neither do I,” Ravi huffed.</p><p>“You couldn’t just pick one,” Lou said in an annoyed tone.</p><p>“Could you pick between Emma and Xander?”</p><p>“Don’t ask dumb questions, Ravi.”</p><p>Ravi rolled his eyes. “And to be clear… I don’t have commitment issues. If I so happened to start dating someone…”</p><p>Lou bit the inside of her cheek to combat the butterflies in her tummy. She said, “I told you. I don’t have a crush on you.”</p><p>“I know,” Ravi said quickly. “I just thought you should know that I’d be more than happy to have a girlfriend.”</p><p>“Good to know,” Lou said in monotone. She regretted bringing anything up. She was ready to move on to any other topic. Her crush had been buried and she didn’t need anything digging it back up.</p><p>“You see how easy that was,” Ravi said as he tried to stretch his legs. “How I let you know what I was thinking? Instead of keeping important details to myself.”</p><p>Lou turned and narrowed her eyes at him. “I told you. My crush was obvious,” she said in offense. “Even Tiffany knew, apparently!”</p><p>“But Jorge didn’t!”</p><p>“Jorge got his hand stuck in a paper towel tube yesterday. He’s not the sharpest pitchfork in the barn.”</p><p>Ravi didn’t reply for a moment. He hadn’t expected her to say anything about a crush. He still couldn’t fully comprehend it. And he especially couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t tell him. He said, “I too was under the impression that you had a type...I didn’t think I was that type or could be that type.”<br/>He saw Lou’s eyes soften and it made his heartbeat quicken. He tried not to think about how close her hand was to his hand with them tangled in the Christmas lights. He was sure that their fingers had brushed several times already. She was about to speak when someone at the door caught her attention. Griff sauntered in with a new pair of headphones on. </p><p>“What are you two doing?” Griff laughed as he slid off his headphones and leaned against the pool table.</p><p>“Writing a memoir,” Lou replied sarcastically. “What does it look like we’re doing!”</p><p>“I don’t know. Being weird like you two always are,” Griff said with a smirk.</p><p>“We seem to have gotten ourselves tangled in the Christmas lights,” Ravi explained in a calm tone. “Would you please help unravel us?”</p><p>Griff shook his head. “Nah,” he laughed. He pushed himself away from the pool table to walk away.</p><p>“Griff, wait!” Ravi raised his voice.</p><p>Griff turned to raise his eyebrows at Ravi. “What?” he asked.</p><p>“Do you think I’d be Lou’s type?”</p><p>Lou groaned and tilted her chin forward to shake her head. “How did I get into this situation?” she complained. “What did I ever do wrong?”</p><p>Ravi ignored her as he continued to ask Griff, “As in, if I were to be interested in her romantically, would it be foolish or would it be logical to assume that she’d have no interests in me whatsoever?”</p><p>Lou gave Ravi a look and argued, “Griff wasn’t even here that year.”</p><p>“He’s here now and I’m sure he thinks I have no chance with you,” Ravi insisted. </p><p>“Huh? I thought she was your girlfriend?” Griff said with a confused look. The confusion, however, didn’t last long. He shrugged and continued walking out of the mess hall. </p><p>“Girlfriend?” Ravi stammered.</p><p>“Griff get back here!” Lou shouted. “Help us out of these dang lights!” She exhaled loudly and then let her shoulders sag. “Where did we go wrong in raising these Woodchucks and Grizzlies?”</p><p>Ravi couldn’t help but laugh. Soon Lou was laughing too. They could hear the crickets outside as evening turned to night. </p><p>“I wish you would’ve told me,” Ravi said in a quiet tone after their laughter faded. “Imagine how happy we’d be...how happy I’d be... if you were really my girlfriend.”</p><p>Lou’s heart skipped a beat. She wouldn’t look over at him as she asked, “What do you mean ‘how happy we’d be’?”</p><p>“Well...we would’ve already had our first date. And our first stroll by the lake as a couple.” He turned to look at the side of her face. “I would’ve been able to hold your hand at the movies last night.” He quickly looked away to stare at the pool table. He added, “And we would be so much cuter than Xander and Emma.”</p><p>“You think so?” Lou asked, keeping the nervousness out of her voice.</p><p>“Like duh,” Ravi answered with a shaky laugh.</p><p>“Guess I figured you rejected me,” Lou said honestly. “I thought I was being so obvious...” </p><p>“Me? Reject you!” Ravi said in disbelief. “Not in a million years would I have thought you had a crush on me!”</p><p>Lou bravely looked over at him. She moved slightly to get more comfortable in the tangle of lights and, for the tenth time that she had counted, her hand brushed against his hand. Her face heated but she still asked the question, “Do you really think we’d still be dating by now? If I would’ve asked you out on a date back then.”</p><p>“Yes,” Ravi answered without hesitation. He turned to make eye contact with her and smiled. “Have you met me? I’m the classic clingy boyfriend. I was made for monogamy. Once we started dating, you would have had to dump me to get rid of me. Especially since you would be the most spectacular of girlfriends.”</p><p>“Really?” she smiled.</p><p>“I doubt dating you would be anything less than extraordinary.”</p><p>He felt dizzy looking at her eyes and smile, but he didn’t mind. The lights around him no longer felt constraining. He took comfort being this close to her. </p><p>“O.M.G!” Emma shouted as she ran into the mess hall. Xander followed behind her. She immediately began tugging at the lights around her friends. “What happened?”</p><p>“We got tangled up in the Christmas lights,” Lou explained. “We’ve been trapped here forever.”</p><p>“Yes, thank goodness you showed up,” Ravi said half-heartedly. </p><p>Within minutes, Emma and Xander were able to set Lou and Ravi free. They both carefully stepped over the heap of lights on the ground.</p><p>“How about Emma and I finish cleaning up here,” Xander said to them. “I’m sure you two have been through enough.”</p><p>Ravi gave Lou a wishful look. He wasn’t ready to be free, yet. But she seemed happy to be. So, he gave Xander a small smile and thanked him and Emma for helping them. He slowly walked out of the mess hall with Lou. He offered to walk her to her cabin and she casually agreed.</p><p>“Sorry about the whole getting you tangled in Christmas lights for hours,” Ravi joked as he stood outside her door. </p><p>“It’ll make for an interesting Christmas in July story next year,” Lou said with a light laugh as she leaned against the door frame.</p><p>Ravi thought about saying goodnight, never mentioning what they had discussed in the mess hall ever again. He was happy with their friendship and he didn’t want to go back to pining after her when he had worked so hard to bury his crush. But he thought he owed it to her to be honest when she was honest with him earlier. He said, “So… just so we’re clear…”</p><p>Lou rolled her eyes and said, “I already told you, Ravi. That was years ago. I don’t have a crush on you anymore.”</p><p>“I know. But I just wanted you to know that...during my first year of camp,” he paused to gently take the tinsel out of her hair. “… I had a crush on you too.”</p><p>Lou wordlessly watched him wave goodnight and then step off the porch to return to his own cabin. Her heart beat wildly and she felt the lovesick grin on her lips. She gave a content sigh as she closed the door behind her and flopped down on her bed.<br/>Zuri raised her eyebrows at Lou and asked, “Did you like your Secret Santa gift?”</p><p>“You bet your last biscuit,” Lou smiled. “And tomorrow, I’m going to make sure I don’t make the same mistake twice.” Her head was already swimming with ideas on how to ask him on a date.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. The Christmas Auction</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lou stepped off the metro bus and onto the frosted sidewalk. She pulled her winter coat closer to her body and walked toward the coffee shop. It wasn’t snowing, but the wind was icy cold and she could barely feel her fingers in her gloves. She used her hip to open the door to the shop and immediately felt warmth. The smell of roasted coffee beans filled the air.</p><p>In the corner of the shop, she could already see Ravi seated at the table that they always shared every Friday morning. There were two cups of steaming coffee waiting in front of him and he had his nose in a book.</p><p>“Let me guess, a non-fiction book about, um, space?” Lou said as she unwrapped her scarf and took a seat at the table. </p><p>Ravi shook his head and replied, “Nope, a space opera. So, science fiction, but I will give you partial credit for the setting is in space.” He closed the book and smiled at her.</p><p>Lou jokingly rolled her eyes at him and said, “Partial credit. You sound like Professor West. She’s why I’m late by the way. I was up forever last night studying. Sorry.”</p><p>“No problemo,” Ravi said as he handed her a cup of coffee. “It gave me time to read something other than textbooks. I never thought I’d be the type of person to be tired of exams, but I am so over these winter finals.”</p><p>Lou chuckled as she held her cup close to her nose, letting the steam warm her up. Every Friday morning, she and Ravi met up at this coffee shop. It was the perfect halfway point between their two college campuses. Ravi was a sophomore at MIT and Lou was a senior at the University of Massachusetts, so they were both basically in Boston. </p><p>“Trust me, I know,” Lou replied. She took a sip of her hot coffee and hummed. “Coffee good.” She reached into her pocket for her wallet and said, “What do I owe ya?”</p><p>“Consider it your Christmas present.”</p><p>“Wow, three-dollar coffee. Best Christmas ever!”</p><p>“Three dollars is nothing to sneeze at. But, hey, you’re worth it.” Ravi picked up his coffee mug and asked, “When do you go home for the holidays?”</p><p>“I’m heading home a few days before Christmas, so I’ll be here another week or so.” </p><p>Lou glanced around the coffee shop. There were strands of garland and lights along the windows and each cafe table had a small, faux poinsettia centerpiece. It wasn’t as crowded as usual. She figured a lot of the students that frequented the shop had already finished their finals and headed home for the holidays.</p><p>“What about you?” she asked.</p><p>“I have another exam, but I have to go home for the weekend. I’ll be back to campus on Monday and then my exam is the following week. Then I’ll return home for the holidays.”</p><p>Lou’s hands had finally warmed up enough for her to snatch off her gloves. She tossed them on the table and asked, “Why don’t you just wait until after your exam to head home? You homesick?”</p><p>Ravi chuckled. Even though he was only a sophomore, Ravi hadn’t ever been homesick while at college. Both of his sisters were in New York and his brother was in L.A. but they had all visited each other often. And one of the reasons he had chosen MIT over the other colleges he had been accepted into was because he knew Lou would be nearby. She had been in Boston two years already, with a scholarship to a public university, by the time he arrived as a freshman to the private university across the river. </p><p>“When you’re around, it’s impossible for me to feel homesick,” Ravi answered without thinking. He blinked as the words played back in his mind. He quickly put down his mug and added, “Because you and I hang out a lot. You know what I mean.” </p><p>“Yeah, yeah! I totally get what you mean,” Lou said with a laugh. She took another sip of her coffee and then stared down into the mug. Honestly, she didn’t know what he had meant. She tried not to sigh as she thought about how often he said things that made her wonder if they could be more than friends.</p><p>“Anyway… I’m going home this weekend at the request of my Dad.”</p><p>“Uh oh,” Lou smirked. “Is someone in trouble?”</p><p>“For what?” he joked. “Making good grades and spending all my free time browsing flea markets with you?”</p><p>Lou chuckled and smiled up at him. It was still grey outside the window, even though it was late in the morning, but she couldn’t help but think his smile lit up the room. She shook the thought out of her mind and focused on what he was saying.</p><p>“Dad is hosting a charity auction to raise money for an arts program that he benefited from when he was younger. This is the first year that I’ll be old enough to attend,” Ravi explained.</p><p>“Cool! You get to go to a swanky holiday party in NYC while I eat almost expired yogurt from the common area fridge.”</p><p>Ravi laughed. “I’m certain that I won’t have too much fun. I’m always awkward at parties, especially fancy parties. And Emma and Luke have already been to the auction in the past, so Dad isn’t making them attend.”</p><p>Lou smiled at the mention of her best friend. She said excitedly, “Emma sent me pictures yesterday! She looks like she’s having an awesome time in Paris. She told me she’d be in New York for Christmas.”</p><p>“She will,” Ravi nodded. He sighed, “But not for the auction. So, I’ll be on my own.”</p><p>“Oh,” Lou said, giving him a sympathetic frown.</p><p>Ravi nervously shifted his mug from one hand to the other. He lowered his gaze to the faux poinsettia centerpiece on their table. “If I had a date, however,” he stammered, “then I suppose it wouldn’t be as awkward.” He lifted his gaze to meet her eyes and asked, “Don’t you think?”</p><p>Lou felt her face heat up when he made eye contact. Her heartbeat quickened. She rummaged through her memories of the past year and a half to see if she could pick out any other gal that Ravi would ask to be his date. He hadn’t acted as desperate in Boston as he had at Camp Kikiwaka, asking every girl he saw on a date, so she could only think of two options.</p><p>“I guess...did you have someone in mind?” she asked, hoping her voice was steady. “Maybe, Evelyn from your study group? Or that one you went on the date with to the aquarium, uh, Holly?”</p><p>“Um… well, I was hoping actually...and I know this is short notice…” Ravi fidgeted with his mug and looked around the coffee shop. He said in a rush, “You would get to see Zuri. She won’t be in attendance at the party, of course, but you’d get to stay the weekend at the penthouse.”</p><p>Lou bit the inside of her cheek to keep from grinning. Her heart beat excitedly in her chest. She asked in a peppy tone, “You want me to be your date?”</p><p>Ravi looked at her and answered, “Yes. But as friends, obviously.”</p><p>“Obviously,” Lou parroted and tried not to look disappointed as her happiness deflated. “I can’t wait to see Zuri! And wow, a rich people shindig! I better go back to the dorm and pack.”</p><p>“Let me drive you,” Ravi said, stumbling over his feet as he stood from the table.</p><p>“I’m good with the bus,” Lou replied, scooting her chair back. “Text me when to be ready and you can pick me up from campus.”</p><p>“Okay,” Ravi said. “And thanks, Lou. I appreciate your kindness in doing me this favor.”</p><p>Lou smiled and quickly turned away to head for the door. She decided that it was foolish to wonder if they could be more than friends when he thought her attending a party with him as his date could only be viewed as a favor. Her heart had always had a soft spot for him, ever since they first became friends at camp, but maybe friends was all they were ever meant to be.________________________________________</p><p> <br/>Ravi drove up to the visitor’s parking space in front of Lou’s dorm building and parked. He had Christmas music playing inside of the warm car. He grabbed his phone out of the cup holder and sent Lou a text message:</p><p>I’m outside. Do you need help with your bags?</p><p>He glanced outside the windshield to see a couple walking by his parked car. They were both in big, puffy coats and huddled together, giving each other quick kisses every few steps. Ravi rolled his eyes. He normally didn’t mind how affectionate people were during the holidays, but this year every time he saw something that cute, he’d be annoyed. His phone buzzed with a message from Lou:</p><p>Got it. I’ll be down in 15 mins.</p><p>Ravi sighed. He was well aware of why he was so annoyed with all the happy people cuddling in the cold, kissing under the mistletoe, and wearing matching sweaters. He wanted to do all of those things with the one person who he was afraid to ask on a date. He had never lacked courage when it came to asking girls out, but he had been less frantic about it once he graduated high school. He had been on dates and had had crushes over the years, but there was only one person that he made sure was a constant in his life.</p><p>His phone buzzed again and he saw it was an incoming call from his sister. He opened the video and smiled.</p><p>“Hey, Zuri!”</p><p>“When are you going to get here?” She asked. She was seated in front of a window with a view of the city behind her.</p><p>“It will be later tonight. But I have a surprise for you!”</p><p>“Really! Is it gold! Ooo, gold!”</p><p>“It’s not gold, Zuri. But I think you’ll be happy all the same.”</p><p>“Oh,” she said flatly. “If you say so…”</p><p>Ravi chuckled and turned down the volume of the Christmas music he had playing in the car. “Have you seen Dad or Mom today?” he asked.</p><p>On the screen, Zuri shook her head. She said, “Nope. You know how they get about the holiday auction. It’s not fair that you get to go and I don’t. You’re a sophomore. I’m a sophomore, too!”</p><p>“You’re a sophomore in high school, Zuri. I’m in college.”</p><p>“I’m mature for my age! Plus, Emma says there’s a lot of shiny things at the auction. Do you know how good of a negotiator I am? I could have all those rich snobs paying way over price for that stuff. I’d raise so much money for the arts program.”</p><p>“True,” Ravi laughed. “But I don’t know about you being mature. Luke told me about the prank you pulled on Emma last month.”</p><p>“She got the squirrels out,” Zuri said matter-of-factly. “Anyway, I heard you ask Dad if you could bring a date?”</p><p>Ravi felt his face heat up. He hoped Zuri couldn’t tell over FaceTime that he was embarrassed. He shrugged and poked his finger at the steering wheel. </p><p>“Did you go to college and finally get a girlfriend?” Zuri joked. Her image shook as she moved from her place by the window. “I’d rather you bring me a couple thousand worth of gold.”</p><p>“I’m not bringing gold, Zuri. Christmas isn’t even this weekend! Nor would I pay that much. And I promise, you’ll love the surprise that I do bring today.”</p><p>“Okay, okay. So, who’s the girlfriend?”</p><p>He heard a commotion outside of his car and looked out the passenger-side window. Lou was outside smiling at him and motioning for him to unlock the door. His heart filled with joy the way it always did when he saw her.</p><p>“I’ve got to go, Zuri. I’ll see you soon,” Ravi said quickly as he unlocked the passenger-side door.</p><p>“See ya,” Zuri said before ending the call.</p><p>Lou shoved her suitcase into the backseat and then sat in the passenger seat. She blew some hair out of her face and shivered in her sweater. </p><p>She tossed him a light jacket and said, “Here’s your hoodie. I’m nice and actually return the things you leave in my dorm.”<br/>Ravi caught the jacket and said, “Hey, whenever I bring back your things you just leave them behind again! What’s the point?”</p><p>Lou shrugged and held up a reusable bag full of treats. “Let’s road trip. I brought snacks!”</p><p>“Ooo, thrifty travel guide tip number one: bring your own snacks,” Ravi said as he searched in the bag.</p><p>“You’re the cheapest rich person I know,” Lou laughed.</p><p>“That’s because you know Emma and Zuri. And I’ve seen both of them pick the gunk out of their nails with a platinum card,” Ravi said flatly. </p><p>Lou chuckled and put on her seatbelt, ready to hit the road.________________________________________</p><p> <br/>That night when Lou stepped out of the elevator into the living room of the penthouse, Zuri leapt into her arms. The bear hug caused Lou to stumble back and giggle as she held tight to her friend. The penthouse smelled like a balsam-and-cedar-scented candle and bright-yellow lights were strung around the room.</p><p>“I missed you too, Woodchuck!” Lou laughed.</p><p>“I told you I was bringing an excellent surprise,” Ravi smiled as he stepped around the two. </p><p>Zuri’s socked feet landed on the ground after she let go of Lou. She turned to her brother and said, “I thought you said you were bringing a girlfriend?”</p><p>Lou raised her eyebrows at Ravi. He settled their suitcases on the floor and shook his head. He snorted and said, “No, you misunderstood. I’d never imply that Lou was my girlfriend.” He shrugged off his winter coat and added, “We’ve always been and shall always be close friends.”</p><p>Lou felt her stomach drop. He had finally confirmed what she had thought as she left the coffee shop that morning: he would always only ever want to be friends. No more than that. Anything she had felt was unrequited, one-sided. And now that she knew the truth, it made her realize how badly she wanted to be more than friends. She smiled in the direction of the large, glitzy Christmas tree by the staircase to hide her disappointment.</p><p>“Whatever,” Zuri said, brushing off Ravi’s comment. She linked her arm with Lou’s and tugged her toward the stairs. “We’re having a slumber party! I’ve got so much to tell you about high school. Starting with this idiot named Landon…”</p><p>________________________________________</p><p> <br/>It was almost noon by the time Lou woke up the next day. Snuggled in a glittery pink blanket, she had fallen asleep on the chaise in Zuri’s room. She yawned and staggered toward the bathroom to splash water on her face. By the time she walked back into the bedroom, Zuri was sitting up on her queen-sized bed and typing on her phone.</p><p>“Emma wants me to pick out your dress for the party,” Zuri said without looking up from her cell phone. “I text her that you’re her so she’s all jealous now.”</p><p>Lou laughed and plopped down on the edge of the bed. She said, “Tell her that I already have a dress for the party. I’m going to wear one of my old homecoming dresses.”</p><p>Zuri raised her eyebrow and said, “That’s not happening. You do know my Mom will be there, right? She’d probably die if you don’t show up in something designer.”</p><p>“Christina’s not like that,” Lou said, waving her hand and shaking her head. “She’s way too down to Earth.”</p><p>Zuri patted the top of Lou’s head and said, “Sweet, sweet, Lou. You’re used to Camp Christina, the nature-loving, competitive former Head Counselor. This is Socialite Christina. And if you or Ravi mess up this party or make the Ross family look bad, she’ll ground you both. And you don’t even live here.”</p><p>Lou’s eyes widened and she gulped. Christina was her role model and she would never want to do anything to upset the woman. “Well, my homecoming dress is definitely not designer. But it's a cow print!”</p><p>“Charming, but I’m thinking we raid Mom’s closet. Designers send her dresses and samples all the time in a bunch of sizes,” Zuri said as she climbed out of bed. “Do you want to see if Ravi’s awake?”</p><p>Lou frowned. She knew she shouldn’t be hurt about him not having feelings for her, but it still kind of stung to have her suspicions confirmed. Especially now that her own feelings were clear to her and she had definitely fallen for him. She hoped she could avoid him until the party, so that she could get herself in check by then.</p><p>“Nah, I’m sure he is awake. Besides, he has another exam when we get back, so you know him. He probably wants to study,” Lou answered casually as she stood up.</p><p>“Nerd,” Zuri said as she gathered her hair into a bundle and tied it with a scarf. “Alright, let’s get you glammed up like your Mariah Carey in her hundredth video for ‘All I Want for Christmas’.”</p><p>“She is the queen of Christmas,” Lou wondered aloud as she followed Zuri out of the room.</p><p>________________________________________</p><p> <br/>By 8 p.m. Lou had been successful at avoiding Ravi all day. She had been right about him wanting to study for his exam. So, except for a few minutes in the kitchen when he collected snacks from the fridge, she hadn’t seen him. Now, in a gorgeous, red dress that Zuri had picked out for her to wear, she stood in the middle of an art gallery beside Christina and Morgan Ross. Garland and wreaths with sparkling lights were throughout the gallery. Celebrities and socialites mingled in small groups and admired the items on auction that were spread throughout the gallery.</p><p>“Thanks so much for helping out, Lou,” Christina said, smiling with her perfectly straight and perfectly bright teeth. Her dress was white and gold and made her look like a winter angel.</p><p>“No prob, Christina! This shindig looks amazing,” Lou said excitedly. </p><p>She had left the penthouse with Christina and Morgan to help them with the finishing touches of the party. She wasn’t surprised by how hands-on they were even though they had hired event planners and decorators for the event.</p><p>“I bet you guys are gonna raise a ton of money. Everything looks so fancy,” Lou said.</p><p>“I went over the auction list with Zuri again this morning,” Morgan said. “She projects a fifteen percent increase in funds raised for the arts program.” He checked his watch and said, “Ravi should be here. We started letting people in an hour ago.”</p><p>Christina put her hand on her husband’s shoulder and said, “Relax, honey. He texted me not too long ago. He had to finish a paper for one of his classes. He’ll be here any minute.”</p><p>Morgan frowned at his watch again, but nodded and let his shoulder relax beneath his wife’s comforting hand. He looked handsome in his expensive tuxedo. “Any minute,” he repeated.</p><p>Christina smiled at Lou and explained, “We traveled so much when the kids were little that we don’t have a lot of traditions.”</p><p>“So, it’s tradition that when a Ross turns twenty, they attend their first holiday charity auction. I get it. In my family, when a Hockhauser turns thirteen they have to skin a deer,” Lou said.</p><p>Christina hummed and said, “I remember my first deer. Honey, could you imagine if we made Emma skin a deer at thirteen?”</p><p>Morgan laughed and squeezed her hand. “No. But we had to ground her once for going after Luke with a butterknife after he spilled grape juice on her favorite pink tutu when she was ten.” </p><p>The three of them laughed and Lou was happy that she had decided to join Ravi on his trip home. She admired his parents and had enjoyed spending time with them. Without them knowing it, they had made her feel a lot better about things with Ravi.</p><p>“I also don’t want him to keep his girlfriend waiting too long,” Morgan said with a smile. “She looks very nice this evening.”</p><p>With those words, all the progress she had made that day crumbled. She had an icky feeling in her gut at the reminder that Ravi had no interest in being together.</p><p>“I’m not his girlfriend,” Lou mumbled as her eyes searched the gallery for the hors d’oeuvres table.</p><p>Morgan and Christina shared a look and then laughed. Lou took a small step away from them in shock. She searched their faces for an explanation as she tried not to look hurt. Did his parents know how stupid she was for having feelings for one of her best friends when he felt nothing romantic for her?</p><p>“What’s got you two cackling like hens?” Lou said, making sure to keep her voice neutral.</p><p>Christina stopped laughing and furrowed her brow at Lou. She asked, “Are you serious? You’re really not…”</p><p>“Really?” Morgan asked with confusion etched across his face. “But he went to MIT for you.”</p><p>Lou winced. “For me? Ravi’s always wanted to go to MIT.”</p><p>Christina studied Lou’s face and then suddenly said, “Um, maybe we should stop talking and go mingle.” She linked her arm with her husband’s arm and tried to move forward, but his feet were planted to the ground.</p><p>“Sure, but he always wanted to go to Caltech, too. And Columbia. And Yale. He would’ve been happy at any of them. Heck, he was accepted into all of them,” Morgan continued to talk. He didn’t see the glare Christina was giving him or notice the way Lou’s eyes had widened.</p><p>“I didn’t know he had been accepted into all of them,” Lou said. “It’s not surprising that he was… but he never mentioned it.”</p><p>“We should really go check on the Lecordier painting. I think there’s been a lot of interest,” Christina said as she hip-checked her husband.</p><p>Oblivious to Christina’s signals to leave the subject alone, Morgan continued talking, “Oh yeah. Every single one. And I was sure he’d pick Caltech cause Luke’s in California. Or at least Columbia cause it’s in New York with us and his sisters. But nope, he wanted to be where you were.”</p><p>Christina sighed, giving up. She let go of her husband’s arm and said, “Ravi cares a lot about you. We assumed you two were together, but it’s perfectly fine that you’re not. Friendship is so special. It’s one of the reasons we sent our kids to camp. And now they have a wonderful friend like you that they’ll treasure their whole lives.” She smiled and hoped she had steered the conversation in a different direction.</p><p>“You can find love at camp, too,” Morgan said good-naturedly as he lovingly smiled down at his wife. “Love that you’d follow anywhere.”</p><p>Christina facepalmed. Lou wasn’t sure what to do, so she gave them a quick smile, pointed in a random direction, and walked away. </p><p>“Our baby boy is going to be so mad at you,” Christina said to Morgan as she watched Lou hurry away.</p><p>“What did I do?” Morgan asked, clueless.</p><p>________________________________________<br/> <br/>Lou wandered around not really paying attention to the art or auction items displayed or the classy Christmas decorations in the gallery. Her brain tried to process what Morgan had said. Did Ravi really choose to go to college in Massachusetts because that’s where she was? She couldn’t believe he’d base a decision that important to him on her. After three smoked salmon crisp, two gingersnaps, and four tiny cups of water, she decided that there was no way that Ravi would do something that huge to be near her. He was at MIT because it was a good school and he’d always wanted to go. It had nothing to do with her. Education was valuable, and Ravi was a sensible guy. He took things of value very seriously.</p><p>“Like our friendship,” Lou said to herself as she took a seat on a bench in front of a painting. </p><p>“What about friendship?”</p><p>She turned and saw Ravi standing near the other end of the bench. He was dressed formally for the party in a black suit and his red bow tie matched her dressed. </p><p>“Dang,” Lou muttered, checking him out.</p><p>“What?” Ravi asked. He hadn’t heard her or noticed the way she was looking at him.</p><p>“Nothing,” Lou said quickly. Her face heated and she looked away from him. She scolded herself for being so easily distracted by him in a nice outfit. “Um, you’re late. Did you finish your paper or whatever?”</p><p>“Sorry,” Ravi apologized as he sat down beside her. “I wanted it out of the way so next week I could finish studying for my last exam. I got here about ten minutes ago. I would’ve found you sooner, but my Dad wanted me to meet one of his colleagues.”</p><p>“You shouldn’t have felt rushed to look for me. Go, talk to your Dad’s friend. I know how important this is to him.”</p><p>“He did mention someone else he wanted to introduce me to but I insisted on finding you first,” Ravi said as he stood up from the bench. “Are you sure you don’t mind? It’ll just be a few minutes.”</p><p>“Go! Mingle, schmooze.” She folded her hands and stammered, “You look nice, by the way.”</p><p>Ravi gave her a grateful smile and then walked toward a group of older gentlemen standing around a glass case containing a vase made of gold.</p><p>Lou exhaled and leaned one hand against the bench. She hadn’t expected him to look so good. She was angry with herself for failing so fast when she thought she had sufficiently avoided him all day to keep her feelings in check for the party. How many times did she need to be reminded that he wasn’t interested in her? He hadn’t paid any attention to the gorgeous dress she wore. He hadn’t even said that she looked nice. </p><p>“Come on, Lou. It’s Christmas time,” she said to herself as she stood from the bench. “Have fun! You’re at a fancy pants party in New York City.”</p><p>She glanced over her shoulder at Ravi, who was smiling politely at some guy wearing a Santa hat and an expensive-looking, royal-blue suit. Her heart beat faster and she quickly turned away, briskly walking in the opposite direction.</p><p>“Oh! That’s nice,” she said brightly as one of the auction items caught her eye. She walked up to the tall table to admire the piece. It was a handcrafted Nativity set painted in gold and embellished with gemstones. “This is awesome,” she said to the bored-looking gal in charge of accepting offers for the set.</p><p>“I’m pretty sure that lady over there eating all the cocktail shrimp will get it. She gave me her bid an hour ago and it’s been the highest,” she replied. She tossed her long, purple braids over her shoulder so that her badge was visible, showing her name. “You rich people are nuts over shiny things.”</p><p>“This is as close as I’m getting to shiny things. I’m nowhere near rich,” Lou snorted. She glanced at the woman’s badge and then leaned closer to whisper, “Cayley, I had to borrow this dress from a child whose allowance is probably worth more than my degree. The toilet paper in the bathroom at this place is softer than my nicest sweater. And I brought plastic baggies to load up on deviled eggs.”</p><p>Cayley laughed so hard that she had to cover her face. Lou was happy that she’d made her laugh, so she waved her goodbye and continued to look around. At the far end of the gallery, she found a wreath made of fresh greenery that hung higher than the rest on a wall near the sleek, black staircase.</p><p>“That sure is a pretty wreath,” Lou said to the woman accepting offers for the auction item. </p><p>“Oh, trust me, it’s more than pretty,” the woman said with attitude. She pointed up at the wreath and said, “Those red dots aren’t berries. They’re rubies.”</p><p>Lou blinked and stammered, “Did you say rubies?”<br/>The woman rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. She was wearing a Santa hat and a black dress that was eye-catchingly short. She didn’t have a badge with her name on it.  “You’re obviously someone’s broke girlfriend. Look, I don’t have time to explain good taste to you. Move along.”</p><p>Lou scrunched her nose and turned to walk up the staircase, muttering, “Rude.” Once she reached the top of the lofted space she gasped. There was a window that gave a nice view of the street outside. The streetlights were lit and had big, red bows around them. Flurries were falling and melting as soon as they hit the awnings and bistro tables outside. She smiled to herself and then looked around the space. There was only a velvet pillow on a tall table in the middle of the room.</p><p>“‘Someone’s broke girlfriend’,” Lou murmured to herself as she slowly moved toward the table. “I’ll have you know that I’m someone’s broke just a friend, so ha. Ugh, why did I even come to this stupid party…”</p><p>Her eyes lit up as she gazed down at the pillow. In its center was a sparkly ring. It was shaped like a winding vine with jeweled leaves. She knew she had never seen a more spectacular piece of jewelry. </p><p>“Woah, mama, papa and uncle stu,” she said in awe. She instinctively reached for her phone, but then remembered that the dress didn’t have pockets. Her baggies for the deviled eggs and her debit card were shoved in her bra. She had left her phone with Zuri back at the penthouse.</p><p>“Shoot,” she muttered. She had really wanted a picture of the beautiful ring. She exhaled and slumped her shoulders. She couldn’t have the picture she wanted. She couldn’t have the guy she wanted. She was not off to a good start to the Christmas season this year.</p><p>The ring glinted in the bright-lights strung high across the ceiling. Lou looked around the empty loft. It was just her and the ring. She could hear the holiday music that the chamber orchestra was playing from the lobby and the chattering of party guests. She convinced herself that it wouldn’t hurt just to see what the ring looked like on her finger.</p><p>“Only for a second,” she whispered to herself as she slipped the ring onto her pointer finger. She held her hand up to the light and giggled as the diamonds gleamed.</p><p>“Okie dokie. I had my fun,” Lou grinned and tried to tug the ring off her finger. </p><p>She hummed and tugged again. The ring wouldn’t budge. She gritted her teeth and yanked at the ring, but nothing happened. She felt a shock of panic in her gut. The ring wasn’t coming off. </p><p>________________________________________</p><p> <br/>Ravi wandered around the art gallery, looking for Lou at the holiday party. Guilt was heavy on his heart. He wondered if she had regretted coming to New York with him only for him to ditch her the entire trip. He couldn’t lie to himself and say that he hadn’t avoided her on purpose, because he had. Asking her to be his date, even though they had both agreed it was a favor, had been the most stressful thing he had done all year. He knew that she’d say yes if they were going as friends, but he wished they were at the party as more than that.</p><p>“Can’t be more when you’re a chicken,” he muttered to himself as he strolled down a hall lined with thin, silver trees. </p><p>Knowing that he wanted more when she clearly wasn’t romantically interested in him had made him weird all day. First, he had spent the day locked up in his room studying and writing a paper that he really could have put off until later. He figured that would be better than pining after her and being jealous of Zuri for taking up all of Lou’s time. And then when he had realized that he would have all of her time to himself at the party, he freaked himself out and had put off arriving at the auction for as long as he could. They had hung out many times before, including the almost five-hour drive the day prior, but he knew seeing her all dressed up and at a fancy Christmas party would make his heart gooey and his mouth dry.</p><p>“Hey, sweetie,” Christina said as she waved him over to a painting of a snowy forest. “Did you talk to your dad?”</p><p>“Yes, Mommy,” he answered automatically. “I mean, Mom. He introduced me to some producers he’s worked with. One of their daughters goes to my school.”</p><p>Christina propped her elbow on his shoulder and said, “Speaking of school...your father may have said...some things to Lou. That you may or may not have discussed with her.”</p><p>“What kind of things?” Ravi stammered. His heart beat rapidly against his chest as nervousness overtook him. What did his Dad do? What did his Dad say? What did his Dad know?</p><p>“Oh, I’m sure it’s not a big deal,” Christina said with uncertainty in her voice as she leaned away from him. “Friends pick colleges that are near their friends all the time. Lou doesn’t think you based your future on her.”</p><p>“What!” Ravi squeaked. His bow tie all of a sudden felt too tight and the room felt much hotter than before.</p><p>“We thought she was your girlfriend, sweetie,” Christina said with a guilty look. </p><p>“I never said she was my girlfriend! Mom, you’ve known her for as long as I have. All of us, Emma, Zuri, Lou, Xander, Tiffany, Griff, Jorge. We’ve all been friends since camp! Only friends,” Ravi said in a rush. He could feel beads of sweat forming on his brow.</p><p>“I know, but it’s been just the two of you in Boston… and the way you talk about her… and the way you look at her.” Christina’s voice was a motherly calm as she gently placed her hand on his shoulder. “I’m your Mom… the same Mommy that’s loved you from the day I saw you. I remember the look on your face when you were a little boy and wanted something but was too afraid to ask for it.”</p><p>Ravi let out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding and hugged his mom. She squeezed him and rocked him side-to-side. When he let go, she smiled at him and fixed his hair.</p><p>“Thanks, Mom,” Ravi said. “Do you, uh, think Dad made her suspect anything?”</p><p>“I’m not sure,” she answered honestly. “But either way, you’ll be okay. Have you seen her yet? She looks beautiful in that cherry-red Amato dress. If Zuri doesn’t go into finance, then she’ll be an excellent stylist.”</p><p>Ravi facepalmed. “No! I had the perfect opportunity to tell her that she looked beautiful and I said nothing. In fact, I ditched her to listen to a boring story about tropical tax shelters.”</p><p>“Zuri’s going to love it when she’s old enough to come to these parties,” Christina laughed. She nudged her son with her elbow and said, “It’s the season for love and truth. Go make sure Lou knows how important she is to you. Even if she doesn’t feel the same way, you’re meant to be friends. And friendship is as special as anything else.”</p><p>Ravi nodded and said, “You’re right, Mom. And being friends with her isn’t awful. She’s one of the best and most honest people that I know.”</p><p> </p><p>________________________________________</p><p> <br/>At the top of the loft, beads of sweat rolled down the side of Lou’s face as she struggled to tug the ring off. The gleam of the diamonds taunted her as it sparkled on her swollen finger.</p><p>“Ah! It’s stuck,” Lou whisper-shouted in a panic.</p><p>“What do you mean stuck?”</p><p>Lou twisted around to see the woman from downstairs by the wreath. The woman had her hip tilted to one side and her arms were crossed as she glared at Lou. No one in a Santa hat had ever looked so unfriendly.</p><p>“You wouldn’t happen to have a stick of butter on you, would ya?” Lou asked, trying to sound casual.</p><p>“No, but I’m sure I can find a knife,” the woman said through her teeth.</p><p>Lou gulped. She glanced around the fancy exhibit. She was sure everything and everyone in that art gallery was way more expensive than her lousy finger. </p><p>“That won’t be necessary,” Lou said. She thought quickly as she wiped the sweat from her brow. “I know! Do you have any water? I can pour it over my hand and yank the ring off!”</p><p>“You’d make a mess!” the woman shouted.</p><p>“Shh!” She didn’t want to embarrass the Ross family by causing a scene at their party. She remembered what Zuri had said about Christina being angry if anything was messed up. “Relax. Just give me a sec,” Lou tried to reason.</p><p>“That ring on your unmanicured finger is one of the most important pieces in the auction,” the woman sneered. “Didn’t you realize it had an entire space dedicated to itself? I will not ‘relax.’”</p><p>Lou shut her eyes in embarrassment. She felt dumb for not realizing that the ring was by itself on a fancy, velvet pillow for a reason. “No, I wasn’t really thinking clearly,” Lou said. </p><p>“That much is obvious.”</p><p>“No need to rub it in, Miss Attitude. This place is full of rich people, right? That means at least one of them is or knows a plastic surgeon. Maybe they’ll know how to get the ring off?”</p><p>The woman narrowed their eyes at Lou and thought for a moment. She grumbled, “Wait here.”</p><p>Lou nodded and tried to calm herself. This was not how she imagined this night going. She paced back and forth in front of the window. The nighttime scene of city lights and snow was no longer enough to calm her. </p><p>“There you are.”</p><p>Lou spun around and hid her hands behind her back at the sound of Ravi’s voice. He stood at the top of the staircase. Lou’s eyes were wide as she shakily laughed and said, “There I am.”</p><p>Ravi narrowed his eyes and smirked as he walked closer to her. He asked, “What are you hiding?”</p><p>She stammered, “Hiding? Me?”</p><p>Ravi tried to look behind her but she stepped to the side. He chuckled, “If it’s deviled eggs, you don’t have to pilfer them. I can talk to the caterer.”</p><p>Lou knew this was Ravi’s first charity auction and that the tradition was important to his parents, but she still ended up ticking off a staff member and getting an auction item stuck to her body. Not only would Ravi regret bringing her as his date, he would be embarrassed in front of his parents on a night that was important to the three Rosses. She couldn’t let him see the ring.</p><p>“Do you want to dance?” she blurted out.</p><p>Ravi stopped trying to see what was behind her back. He raised his eyebrow at her and said, “This doesn’t seem like dancing music…”</p><p>“So,” Lou shrugged. She grabbed his collar with one hand and brought him closer to her. She put her other arm around his shoulder to keep him from seeing the ring. “See, we’re dancing,” she said as she swayed to the classical holiday music being played by the chamber orchestra below. “There’s no rules to dancing.”</p><p>“Uh… okay. I still think you're hiding something.” He put his arms around her and smiled, “But I like dancing with you, so I won’t question it.”</p><p>For a moment, Lou forgot about the expensive ring stuck on her finger. She gave him a goofy grin and tried not to swoon over the way he was looking at her or how close he was holding her. She simultaneously hated and loved the way that he made her feel when he was dressed like the love-interest in a romantic movie.</p><p>“Morgan and Christina did a really good job with the auction. Everything looks amazing,” Lou said as they swayed in front of the picturesque window and under the twinkling Christmas lights.</p><p>“You do, uh, no… oh, never mind,” Ravi sighed. His eyes were bright as he said, “I think you look amazing.”</p><p>Lou felt her face heat up and she felt breathless. She had to remind herself that he was being nice because he was her friend, not because he wanted to date her. “Thanks. Zuri helped me get ready. I don’t think I fit in with this crowd. I stood beside a lady over by the hors d'oeuvres table earlier and she actually smelled like money.”</p><p>“Oh, that’s Mrs. Newberry,” Ravi replied. “Her private island is approximately twenty-five nautical miles from ours, so we’re neighbors a few weeks out of the year.”</p><p>“She was hogging all the cheese cubes,” Lou said, making Ravi laugh.</p><p>He looked her in the eye as they continued to sway to the music. “I’d like to apologize...for abandoning you today,” he said with sincerity in his voice.</p><p>Lou shrugged her shoulders. “Eh, I got to hang out with Zuri and your parents, so I’ve had a great time. And I know you were busy studying and stuff.”</p><p>“I was nervous about our date tonight… I wanted it to be special.”</p><p>Lou frowned. She knew as soon as he found out about the ring, his night would no longer be special. It would be a headache and would risk the most important item of the night not being sold to raise money for the arts program. But she had to be honest with him.</p><p>“I need to tell you something,” Lou said as she leaned away from him.</p><p>“I need to tell you something, too,” Ravi said as he pulled her closer. </p><p>His palms were sweaty and his voice was shaky, but she didn’t notice. All she knew was that he was in kissing distance and she couldn’t concentrate on anything else. She tilted her head and leaned forward as her eyes fluttered shut. </p><p>“I couldn’t find a plastic surgeon. But I did find a knife.”</p><p>The woman’s voice caused Ravi to shriek in terror. Lou broke free of the trance she had been in. Moments like that confused Lou because she could have sworn Ravi was leaning in to kiss her too. And that had to mean something, right? She pushed away her confusion and refocused on the angry staff member. The woman held a steak knife in one hand and had her other hand on her hip.</p><p>“Carol?” Ravi said the woman’s name while he kept his eyes on the knife.</p><p>Lou sighed and let go of Ravi. She held up her hand and for the first time Ravi saw the glittering ring on her pointer finger. The diamonds were different cuts, but had stunning clarity, and wound like a vine on her finger.</p><p>“Alright, but I hope you’ve got something to get blood stains off diamonds,” Lou said as she took a step forward.</p><p>“No, no,” Ravi said quickly as he held his arm out in front of Lou to block her path forward. “What in the world is going on? Why does one of my mother’s assistants have a knife?”</p><p>“The genius got the ring stuck on her stubby finger and it’s worth more than her and those discount shoes she’s wearing from Nordstrom,” Carol snarked.</p><p>“These are from Walmart,” Lou sassed back as she pointed at her ballet flats. “Thank you very much.”</p><p>“That’s it. I’m getting security,” Carol said as she turned to leave.</p><p>“Wait!” Lou called out. She gently pushed Ravi’s arm out of the way and slowly stepped forward. She said in a resigned tone, “Don’t cause a scene. I don’t want to ruin the Rosses night. I’ll go quietly to security. We can get rid of my finger or they can take me to jail. Or maybe we could find some Windex? I’ve heard that does the trick.”</p><p>“We’re not putting cheap window cleaner on that ring. I’d rather chop off your finger,” Carol said.</p><p>Ravi shook his head and said, “No one’s chopping off anyone’s finger. And Lou,” he put his hand on her shoulder, “You could never ruin this night. It’s only been made better by having you here.”</p><p>Lou said, “But the ring…”</p><p>“I’ll figure it out.” He let go of her shoulder and faced Carol. “There’s no need for security. We’re going to figure this out.”</p><p>“We’ll see,” Carol said as she menacingly waved the knife at Lou and glared. She sauntered back down the stairs of the loft. </p><p>“She makes me uncomfortable,” Lou said as she stumbled over to sit on the windowsill. </p><p>“Me too,” Ravi agreed as he stood by the stairs. “Uh, don’t go anywhere. Okay?”</p><p>“Don’t worry, I wasn’t planning on having security tackle me in front of the violinist. Or for Christina to find out what an idiot I am,” she said in an exasperated tone.</p><p>He shook his head and grinned. “It’s going to be fine, Lou,” he assured her.</p><p>He gazed at her. It was the same look that sometimes made her doubt herself. It made her doubt how certain she was that he didn’t want to date her. It made her heart race and her stomach sick with butterflies. Her face heated up, so she quickly turned to stare out the window. </p><p>“Ask Carol to reconsider the Windex,” Lou said without looking back at him. She heard him chuckle and then climb down the stairs.</p><p>________________________________________</p><p> <br/>For a while, Lou had glared at the ring, but it was in vain because the jewelry remained stubbornly on her finger. So, she turned her attention to the window. The flurries had melted on the street, so the puddles glinted with the light. She could hear the laughter, chatter, and music below the loft of the art gallery as she waited for her fate to be decided. She took it as a good sign that no security workers or angry parents had bounded up the stairs yet.</p><p>“Okie dokie Artichokie! Let’s go.”</p><p>Lou turned away from the window at the sound of Ravi’s voice. She fidgeted with the shiny ring that was stuck on her finger as she said in seriousness, “They’re taking me to the pokey, aren’t they?”</p><p> “Is that jail? Uh, no. You’re not going to jail,” Ravi said as he waved her over. “We’re going to get hot chocolate. There’s a late-night coffee shop around the corner.”</p><p>Lou stared at him blankly. She said, “I don’t understand.”</p><p>Ravi offered no explanation. Instead, he said, “I’ll get our coats. Meet me in the lobby.” And he turned and briskly climbed down the stairs.</p><p>“Um…” Lou looked around the loft in confusion. She glanced down at the ring still stuck on her finger and exhaled. “Did I miss something?” she murmured to herself. She climbed down the stairs and was surprised that Carol wasn’t waiting for her with the steak knife.</p><p>“Oh, that ring is just gorgeous!” a man gushed as he ran up to Lou. He grabbed her wrist and held her hand high in the air so that the diamonds sparkled in the lights shining from the decorative wreaths. “Martin! Come look! Don’t get more shrimp, just come look!”</p><p>Martin and several other guests wandered over to see the commotion. Lou felt sick as the stranger waved her hand around. All eyes were on the beautiful ring. There were Oohs and Ahhs and someone even clapped.</p><p>“You see… what happened was…” Lou began, about to explain the embarrassing situation and that she was not a thief and could one of them please buy it and raise money for the charity.</p><p>But the stranger let go of her hand and said, “Morgan always finds the best treasures for these parties. Oh, Tanya, is that you? Martin, look, it’s Tanya!”</p><p>Lou exhaled and relaxed her shoulders as Martin and the stranger hurried over to a woman by a clay jar exhibit and the other party guests dispersed. Not wanting another scene, she tucked her hand under her armpit and dashed toward the lobby to meet Ravi.</p><p>Most people were strolling around the gallery, so only a few guests were in the lobby. The greeter’s podium was without a greeter, so she stood behind it to hide her hand. Morgan walked by and gave her a smile and a small wave. She waved back, but immediately regretted it because the ring was visible on her finger. She dropped her arm to her side and her eyes widened. She waited for him to stomp over in fury, but he continued walking toward the hors d'oeuvres table.</p><p>“Guess you like shiny things after all,” Cayley, the staff member from the fancy Nativity scene display, said as she walked up to Lou and grabbed her hand to inspect the ring. “Really, really shiny.”</p><p>“It’s not what you think,” Lou said as Cayley let go of her hand.</p><p>“I’m not judging. I wish someone would drop twenty on me,” Cayley replied. She grinned and wiggled her eyebrows. “Plus, Carol is ticked off. And she’s such a jerk. But your man buying that ring has got her so angry and so jealous...and that’s what Christmas means to me. So, thank you, kind stranger.”</p><p>Cayley winked at Lou and then ambled off. Lou was speechless and confused. She barely registered when Ravi walked up to her and handed her her coat. </p><p>“Ready to go?” he asked her as he put on his scarf.</p><p>Lou nodded and followed him out the door. The cold night air hit her, but she couldn’t feel its chill linger. Her brain was heating her up from trying to piece together what had happened.</p><p>“Did you buy this ring for me?” she heard herself ask. She turned to look at him as they walked down the sidewalk.</p><p>Ravi wouldn’t look at her. He kept his eyes focused on the path ahead. “I certainly couldn’t let them chop off your finger,” he said.</p><p>Lou looked down at the ring and smiled to herself. She knew it was silly to be excited over a twenty-dollar ring, but it was the prettiest gift that he had ever given her. Sure, he had bought her lunch or the occasional gift card for her birthday over the years, and she had done the same for him, but the ring was something different. It seemed more personal, especially when she was so afraid that the ring being stuck on her finger would cause a disaster for him and his parents at the auction. But although it made her feel special, she couldn’t help but wish that he had bought the ring because he liked her the way that she liked him. Not because he was a good friend that wanted to protect her from embarrassing herself. </p><p>“I can’t believe all that fuss was over a twenty-dollar ring,” Lou said as she admired it on her finger. “Is it gorgeous? Yes, absolutely! And what are these? I guess they’re rhinestones or something cause of the price. But I’ve never seen costume jewelry like this! I was willing to have my finger cut off for this! Don’t get me wrong. There are plenty of Hockhausers that are missing fingers and toes. I just didn’t plan on being one of them over twenty bucks.”</p><p>“Twenty bucks?” Ravi said in an amused tone as he clutched his winter coat closer to him. Flurries began to fall again and stuck to the sidewalk.</p><p>Lou blinked and replied innocently, “Yeah, that’s how much you spent on it, right? Cayley, the woman from the auction, told me.”</p><p>Ravi froze as he realized she was serious. Lou stumbled and had to take a few steps back to where he had stopped. Ravi was baffled. He glanced down at the ring that was glinting in the streetlights and Christmas lights strung along the poles. He lifted his gaze to her eyes. She was watching him like a hawk.</p><p>“It was twenty dollars, right, Ravi?”</p><p>“Uh… right. Yes, that is the correct sum of money that was spent,” he said with a shaky laugh. He cleared his throat and looked away from her, “Now onward to the coffee shop.”</p><p>“Oh my gosh, it wasn’t!” She smacked his arm.</p><p>“Ow!”</p><p>“Ravi, how much did this ring cost?” Her tone was serious and whenever he tried to look away, she blocked his view to make him look her in the eye.</p><p>“A mere… twenty… thousand…”</p><p>Lou gasped and jumped back from him. She bumped into a passerby and apologized. Her breaths were short as she frantically looked around for a place to breathe. She spotted the entryway of a flower shop, grabbed Ravi’s hand, and dragged him over. The door to the shop was closed for the night but an empty cart and chalkboard were propped up on either side.</p><p>Lou shook away Ravi’s hand before lumbering up to the door. She leaned her back against it and inhaled. Her lungs filled with cold air and when she exhaled a cloud of breath floated away from her lips. Ravi shuffled awkwardly on his feet and stared down at the chalkboard.</p><p>“Oh, how nice… they’re having a sale on poinsettias and amaryllis. That’s fitting for the season…” Ravi said, not looking up from the chalkboard.</p><p>“Twenty thousand dollars, Ravi?” Lou said as she pushed her back away from the door. She nodded her head as she made a decision. “We’ve got to go back. Heck, my aunt only has three toes. I don’t need…”</p><p>Ravi finally looked at her and said, “No, Lou. Don’t be ridiculous.”</p><p>“I’m not ridiculous! You’re the one spending enough money to put a down payment on a condo!”</p><p>Ravi tried to sound casual as he said, “Well… it’s Christmas.” He held out his arms and waved them around. “Merry Christmas!”</p><p>“Don’t you ‘Merry Christmas’ me! You gave me a three-dollar coffee for Christmas, remember? And you said that was a lot of money!”</p><p>Ravi exhaled and a cloud of breath floated away. He pulled his fingers through his hair and said in a soft tone, “I know. And you’re right...” He stepped closer to her and held out his hand. </p><p>Lou stared at his hand. She was angrier with herself than at him. Afterall, she was the one that put the dumb ring on her finger. She placed her hand into his hand. She couldn’t ignore the warm feeling that spread from her heart to her head to her toes.</p><p>Ravi continued to speak. “...It’s a lot of money. But you were so worried about ruining the auction, which you never could. Like I said before, you made it better. Shesh, you were there longer than I was and you even helped my parents with setup earlier. But back to my point...Lou, you looked so sad… and beautiful…”</p><p>Lou felt like her heart was ready to burst out of her chest and start clog dancing in the snow. She wanted to tell him that she thought he was beautiful, more beautiful than the expensive ring on her finger. She wanted to tell him that she had feelings for him that had snuck up on her and caught her off guard and kept her thinking about him constantly. She wanted to tell him that she had fallen for him and that she hoped he’d give her a chance so he can fall for her too.</p><p>“You too,” she said breathlessly. She shook her head and amended, “I mean, you don’t look sad. Or you didn’t look sad… Never mind, you talk.”</p><p>Ravi didn’t seem thrown off by her rambling. He gazed at her and said, “I bought the ring. There’s no harm done. The arts program gets a nice donation and my friend gets to be happy.”</p><p>That word soured her mood: friend. She pulled her hand out of his and frowned. She thought about all they had been through over the years from camp to college. He had possibly gone to MIT to be near her. He had maybe leaned in when she leaned in back at the party. He had definitely spent twenty thousand dollars on her mistake. She wasn’t sure if she had misunderstood things, but she was sure that he cared about her in some way.</p><p>She said, “Do you honestly buy your friend a twenty-thousand-dollar ring?”</p><p>“When the friend is you.”</p><p>“Is that it for us? Are we only ever going to be… friends?”</p><p>Ravi’s eyes widened. He moved closer to her and grasped both of her hands with his. He held them close to his heart as he asked hopefully, “You want to be more?”</p><p>She felt the beating of his heart and that was enough to silence any doubt or fear in her mind. She answered, “Nothing would make me merrier this Christmas.” She leaned in to kiss him, but stopped right before her mouth met his. She leaned back and said quickly, “And that’s because I like you. Not because of the money or…”</p><p>“Obvi,” Ravi chuckled. “I know you better than that. We can even get some Windex if you want to try and remove it… But if you don’t mind… I’d really like to kiss you first.”</p><p>“Sounds good to me,” Lou grinned right before leaning in.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. All I Want For Christmas</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lou balanced the grocery bags in her arms as she carefully shuffled down the snowy sidewalk. There had been a snowstorm the night before but having lived in Chicago for a while she was used to walking in the winter weather. She was bundled in a scarf and mittens that she had made herself and her winter coat was thick and puffy.</p><p>“Here, let me get that for you,” she heard a familiar voice say as she approached the door to her building.</p><p>“Thanks!” She smiled at her friendly neighbor, Ravi, and joked, “This coat seriously limits my range of motion.”</p><p>“At least you’re toasty,” Ravi said good-naturedly as he held the door open for her. </p><p>Lou glanced at the community board on the wall by the mailboxes. It was covered in flyers advertising holiday events. A few boxes were scattered along the wall from delivery people not taking them up to the apartment units.</p><p>“Big plans for Christmas Eve?” Ravi asked as he pointed at the bags in her arms.</p><p>They stopped in front of the elevator and he hit the up button. There was only one elevator in the building and it always ran slow. The garland above it had a strong plastic smell that everyone who lived in the building complained about, but the property manager insisted on leaving it up.</p><p>“My parents made it in town before the snowstorm,” Lou explained. “They’re having dinner with me tonight. And tomorrow they're taking the train to see my brother and his kids for Christmas.”</p><p>“How lovely! I hope you have a wonderful time,” Ravi replied with a smile.</p><p>Lou had been Ravi’s neighbor for over a year. He was one of the first people who introduced himself when she moved into the building. He worked at the university and volunteered at the youth community center on weekends. As they waited for the elevator, she glanced over at him. She thought he was really cute, but she was pretty sure that at least one of the three women that were always at his apartment had to be his girlfriend. From their short conversations in the hallway or at the coffee shop they both frequented, she had figured he wasn’t the kind of guy to have multiple girlfriends. But he had to have at least one.</p><p>The elevator arrived and they both stepped inside. Christmas music had been on a loop since the day after Thanksgiving. Lou shuffled the bags in her arms and hummed along to the music.</p><p>She sang under her breath, “More than you could ever know…”</p><p>“Make my wish come true…” he sang along, making her smile.</p><p>“All I want for Christmas is you!” they both belted out. </p><p>“You…” she sang with a bright smile.</p><p>“...Baby!” he sang in response.</p><p>They burst into a fit of laughter as the elevator slowly made its way to the fourth floor. One of the bags slipped from Lou’s arms. Ravi clumsily caught it, nearly falling over himself. </p><p>“What about you? Any plans for Christmas Eve?” Lou asked as she adjusted the bags in her arms.</p><p>“Unfortunately, my flight was canceled due to the snowstorm, so I guess I’ll be here for Christmas,” Ravi answered. The elevator opened and he followed her out the metal doors.</p><p>“Oh,” Lou replied with a frown. </p><p>She didn’t know how close or not close he was to his family. Their conversations hadn’t been that involved. But no one likes when their plans are disrupted. She stopped in front of the door to her apartment. He placed the bag he had caught in the elevator by her door before taking the five-step journey to his own apartment across from hers. </p><p>“Sorry that your flight was cancelled,” she said as she placed the bags on the ground to dig in her pocket for her key.</p><p>“Me too. But it won’t be so bad. I’ll FaceTime everyone tomorrow. And we always take a trip in January, so I’ll get to spend time with them then,” he said as he unlocked his own door.</p><p>She couldn’t explain it, but she hated the thought of him being alone during Christmas. Her instinct was to drag him into her apartment for sweet potato casserole and hot chocolate, but then the thought of the two of them snuggling on her couch with Christmas cookies also crept into her mind. </p><p>“That sounds fun,” Lou said. She quickly added, “The trip in January. Not the…” she was about to say snuggling by mistake but she caught herself. </p><p>Ravi nodded politely. He had opened the door to his apartment but hadn’t stepped inside yet. He said, “I’m sure your parents are in for a treat. Those brownies that you made for everyone were amazing.” He chuckled and amended with air quotes, “I mean that ‘Santa’ made for everyone.”</p><p>Lou smiled. She had left all of her neighbors a tin full of chocolate brownies with a note from Santa. It was her way of spreading holiday cheer. She asked, “How’d you know it was me?”</p><p>He shrugged. “It seemed very Lou.”</p><p>She tried not to grin like an idiot, but her face heated and her heartbeat quickened. Her parents would be there in a few hours and she knew if she stayed out in the hallway mindlessly chatting with her neighbor while she stared at his face and wondered if he had a girlfriend then nothing would get done. She figured the best way to put her heart at rest and move on with her day would be to finally have an answer to the question she had been asking herself about Ravi.</p><p>“So… you won’t be going to your family’s place for Christmas. I guess that’ll leave you more time with your girlfriend?” she asked casually.</p><p>“Girlfriend?” Ravi stammered. He shook his head no and said, “I don’t… I’m single.”</p><p>Lou narrowed her eyes at him and smirked, “Right… so all those women are just ‘friends’? Come on, Ravi. We’re neighbors. I’ve seen them. I didn’t think you were the type to date so many people.”</p><p>“Women?” Ravi repeated, completely flabbergasted. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Lou. But I can assure you that I’m no ladies man.”</p><p>Lou studied his shocked expression. “I just… You know. Those three women. Uh, the one with the long, silky hair? And the gorgeous brown eyes?”</p><p>“Who?”</p><p>“She was speaking Mandarin the other day. Outside the building on her cell phone,” Lou elaborated. “She’s really pretty and younger.”</p><p>“Oh,” Ravi drawled. “You mean Tiffany!” He smiled. “She is younger. I was her counselor at science camp when I was a teenager. That’s where I met her and Jorge. We’ve been best friends ever since then.”</p><p>“Best friends?” Lou parroted as she tilted her head.<br/>“Yes, she has family in Chicago, so she visits often even though she’s a student at Harvard. Right now, she’s in Denver to visit her boyfriend,” Ravi explained.</p><p>“Oh…” Lou almost felt embarrassed until she remembered the other women. “What about the other young one? The one with the supermodel legs and the fierce grin?”</p><p>Ravi leaned against the doorframe of his apartment and sighed, “That doesn’t sound like anyone that I know.”</p><p>Lou glanced up at the ceiling and thought for a moment. She snapped her fingers and said, “I saw her put up a flyer on the community board. It had the QR code for a virtual financial seminar or something!”</p><p>“Zuri?” Ravi said with a chuckle. “She’s my sister!”</p><p>“Sister,” Lou stammered. Her foot knocked against one of the grocery bags that were leaning against her door. Without thinking she asked, “And the blonde that’s always dressed like she belongs in Paris or somewhere fancy like that?”</p><p>“Also, my sister,” Ravi answered as he leaned away from the doorframe. “I’m adopted. My siblings visit often.” Lou stared at him blankly so he continued talking. “They all made it home to New York. I would’ve left earlier in the week, but I got caught up in my research at work.”</p><p>“Oh…”</p><p>Lou was so embarrassed that she didn’t know what else to say. She shouldn’t have pried but she was curious and now she felt like a creeper for being able to describe in detail who visits his apartment.</p><p>“Well,” Ravi started as he stepped into his apartment, “Now that you know that my romantic life is nonexistent, I’ll let you get back to your Christmas Eve plans.”</p><p>“Right,” Lou said as she unlocked her door. “Uh, thanks for helping me in the elevator.”</p><p>“Of course,” he said politely over his shoulder. “Merry Christmas, Lou.”</p><p>“Merry Christmas,” she murmured as she watched him shut his door.<br/>________________________________________<br/> <br/>Lou spent the next four hours burying the memory of her awkward conversation with Ravi by cooking Christmas Eve dinner. Mixing and cutting and baking put her mind at ease. Her kitchen shared space with a large living room and the entire apartment smelled like cinnamon and glazed ham. She was dusting flour off her Christmas-themed apron when her phone rang.</p><p>“Ho Ho Hello,” she greeted her parents on the video call. “How’s your mini vacation?” </p><p>Her parents had refused to stay at her apartment when they arrived yesterday evening. They loved spending time with their daughter, but they rarely went on vacations. So, they were excited to rent an Airbnb and be tourists for the day while she prepared dinner. </p><p>“Chicago’s so pretty, Lou Lou,” Mrs. Hockhauser cooed. “And the snow! Snow never looks this pretty back home.”</p><p>“Cause there ain’t no buildings like this back home. Look at this, Lou,” Mr. Hockhauser said as he flipped the phone camera to a view of the Wrigley Building. </p><p>“Make sure you see the Christmas tree that they have there,” Lou said as she walked over to the oven to check on her cake. “It’s huge!”</p><p>“Lou, you’ll never guess who we saw at the market,” her mother said, flipping the view back to her and her husband. “I couldn’t even believe it! It really is a small world. I tell your Pa that all the time.”</p><p>“All. the. Time,” her father mocked, making Lou chuckle as she took the cake out of the oven with her rooster-shaped oven mitts. </p><p>“Well don’t keep me waiting, Ma,” Lou chuckled. “Who’d you see at the market?”</p><p>“Mordecai! You remember Mordecai. You went to high school together!”</p><p>Lou had to force herself not to roll her eyes on camera. She faked a smile and said, “Oh, really?”</p><p>“Yes! Did you know he was here? He spoke to me and your Pa. He was also such a nice boy. And his fiancée! Did you know he has a fiancée? And she, Lou, is gorgeous,” Mrs. Hockhauser said animatedly. </p><p>Lou nodded along with faux enthusiasm. She had no idea anyone from her high school was in Chicago. She had gotten along with everyone in her hometown, but once she moved to the city her friendships were mostly with people she worked with at the elementary school or volunteered with at the zoo. Also, Mordecai broke her heart when they were teenagers, so she really didn’t go out of her way to keep up with his life.</p><p>“That makes about all your friends from high school that are in love,” Mrs. Hockhauser said on the video. It was growing darker outside even though it was only after 4 p.m. and the building lights were appearing brighter on the screen.</p><p>“Is it?” Lou said as she tried to keep a neutral tone. She contemplated picking up the hot cake pan with her bare hand just to have an excuse to get off the phone.</p><p>“Your Ma keeps up with all of it on the whatchamacallit page on the thing,” Mr. Hockhauser said. “Mordecai’s engaged. Lily Sue got married last spring. Sharron dates that lawyer that came to close down the plant outside of town. He drives a real nice car. Oh look, a pretzel cart! Let’s get a pretzel.”</p><p>“Pa, I’m cooking for you guys! Don’t get a pretzel,” Lou said as she walked around the kitchen counter and over to the couch. “And I think you two are exaggerating. There’s no way that everyone from my high school is in a relationship.”</p><p>Her parents shared a look that made Lou’s stomach drop. Her mother brought her face close to the screen and said, “Oh, baby, don’t worry. We love you!”</p><p>Mr. Hockhauser pressed his cheek close to his wife’s so that they were both up close and in focus to give Lou sympathetic looks. He said, “Yeah, baby girl, we know you’ve always been a late bloomer. Heck, you weren’t fully potty trained until you were about eight.”</p><p>Lou’s face was on fire and she argued, “Not true, Pa! And what do you mean late bloomer?”</p><p>“Baby, you took that goat to prom. We know you don’t have the best, uh, how you say…”</p><p>“You don’t have a man and it’s fine,” her father said bluntly. “You’re a beautiful girl, Lou. And if no one can appreciate that then it’s their loss.”</p><p>“And you don’t need a boyfriend,” Mrs. Hockhauser said with an encouraging smile. “You’ve got your Ma and your Pa!”</p><p>“And that’s all the love you need,” her father added as both her parents gave her a thumbs up.<br/>Lou wanted to disappear into the couch cushions. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her parents actually pitied her for having no game. Sure, she hadn’t had a date in months and sure her last boyfriend was a complete idiot, but hearing her parents say that they basically had lost hope in her love life was a real low point.</p><p>Everything in her screamed that she had to prove her parents wrong. So, she said, “I have a boyfriend!”</p><p>She could see the light in her parents’ eyes brighten as they wore matching grins. It was the same soul-lifting look that they got whenever she did something to make them proud. For a moment, she actually believed she was being a good daughter instead of a total liar.</p><p>“We can’t wait to meet him!” Mrs. Hockhauser declared.</p><p>“What!” Lou exclaimed with her eyes widened.</p><p>“We’ll see you at seven,” Mr. Hockhauser said before waving goodbye and ending the call.</p><p>Lou let her phone fall from her hand and onto the couch. She muttered, “Oh, crud.” Her heart beat like crazy and she felt like her body was glued to the cushions. “Oh, crud!” She panicked. In a few hours, her parents were going to waltz into her apartment expecting to meet her imaginary boyfriend. <br/>________________________________________<br/> <br/>Ravi sat in the home library that he had made out of the extra bedroom in his apartment. There were large bookshelves against the wall and a comfy couch in the center of the room. He tried to focus on the book he was reading, but his mind kept wandering back to the conversation he had had with his sister, Emma.</p><p>After his run in with Lou earlier that afternoon, he had called his older sister and told her what had happened.</p><p>“So, the cute neighbor that you have a crush on is keeping tabs on you?” Emma had said on the video call. She was getting a holiday pedicure at her favorite spa. “Why are you talking to me then? You should be over there talking to her.”</p><p>“She wasn’t keeping tabs on me. She’s just observant,” Ravi had argued. “And it’s not a crush. I simply admire her...from afar…”</p><p>“Well, it’s Christmas and anything could happen. Go see if she’s got anyone to admire her from not afar.” </p><p>As Emma’s words replayed in his head, Ravi couldn’t focus on his book. The words on the page blurred together and gave him a headache. He tossed his book to the other end of the couch and pouted. He didn’t think Emma’s advice was bad. It just wasn’t right for him. Lou was friendly and thoughtful and he didn’t want her to start avoiding him if he showed a romantic interest in her.  </p><p>He decided to go unpack his bags since he was no longer flying to New York. He sorted through the gifts he had planned on taking to his family for Christmas. He had bought his mother an expensive scarf even though he was sure she had a dozen of them already. He had bought his father a fancy set of razors even though he knew his dad had his personal barber shave his face for him. </p><p>Ravi stacked the gifts on the dresser and said out loud to himself, “I should think of something more personal to get them.” Now that he had extra time, he decided he could come up with gifts more from the heart and have them ready for January. He glanced at the presents, “Maybe I could donate these? Why didn’t I get a gift receipt?”</p><p>He finished his unpacking and lumbered into his living room to flop down on the couch. He stared out the floor-to-ceiling window of his apartment and watched the snowflakes float down. He kept the shades up during the day so natural light could shine in his apartment even though the winter days had been grey. He had a nice view of the snow-covered park across from the building. He hummed a tune and quickly realized it was the song from the elevator earlier. </p><p>“All I want for Christmas is you,” he sang quietly as his gaze drifted to the front door of his apartment. He couldn’t help but think about the door across the hall from his own.</p><p>He shook his head and grumbled, “Don’t be ridiculous.” He swiped his laptop from the coffee table and decided to spend the next few hours getting work done on the research project for his job.</p><p>________________________________________<br/> <br/>Lou finished setting out the plates and silverware on her small dining table by the floor-to-ceiling window. She sighed as she looked out the window at the snow drifting down. Her view was of another building so most of the time she kept her shades down. She glanced over her shoulder to see the time on her microwave. Only twenty minutes until her parents arrived.</p><p>“Ugh! Lou, you poor fool,” she sighed dramatically as she trudged over to her couch and flopped down on her back.</p><p>She stared up at the ceiling as music played from her Bluetooth speakers. She had hoped the music would drown out her worry, but she hadn’t had a moment of calm since the call with her parents had ended. She dug her phone out the pocket of the dark-green dress she had changed into for dinner. For the tenth time, she scrolled through her contacts. Her initial thought was to come clean when her parents arrived, but the irrational part of her brain was too embarrassed to admit the truth. Her next thought was to ask one of her guy friends to pretend to be her boyfriend for a few hours. But they all had their own family functions for Christmas Eve and even if they did agree to her stupid request, the idea of pretending to date any of them made her grimace. </p><p>“Maybe Marcus will help me out?” she said to herself as she sat up on the couch. She was in no way interested in dating Marcus, but she was also not interested in looking like a loser in front of the people that created her. She hit his number and waited as it rang. </p><p>No answer.</p><p>“Great,” Lou frowned as she tossed her phone to the end of the couch. “What am I going to do now?” She glanced at the time again. Fifteen minutes. She groaned. She knew it was too late now to ask any of her other guy friends to ditch their families to save her from embarrassment. </p><p>Her ears perked up at the song playing on the radio. She hadn’t been paying attention to the words, but she heard them clearly now.</p><p>“Santa won’t you bring me the one I really need! Won’t you please bring my baby to me,” the song played from the speakers.</p><p>“That’s it!” She exclaimed as she hopped up from her couch. She didn’t even stop to put on shoes as she ran out the front door. The rest of her reacted quicker than her brain as she knocked frantically on her neighbor’s door.</p><p>“Lou?” Ravi asked once he opened the door. He looked surprised to see her.</p><p>“Want to fake a relationship for Christmas?” Lou said in a rush. <br/>He blinked. “Uh...what?”</p><p>Lou barged past him and into his apartment. She looked around the room frantically and said, “We have to make it look like we’re dating, so I’m gonna need…” She spotted a picture on the mantle of him smiling in front of a building with gothic architecture. “A picture of you for my mantle…” She saw another picture of him with his sisters and grabbed that one too. “I better bring two in case my mom goes snooping around the apartment.”</p><p>“Lou, what’s going on?” Ravi asked with concern in his voice. “Is everything okay?”</p><p>She ignored him as she muttered to herself, “What else...Oh, I know!” She sped out of the living room and down the hall.</p><p>“Where are you going?” Ravi shouted in confusion as he followed her through his apartment.</p><p>She walked into his library and said, “Huh, cool library.” She briskly walked back out to continue her search.</p><p>“You like my library?” he asked as he followed her into his room.</p><p>“Yes, it’s lovely,” she said in one breath as she searched through his closet. “I’ve always wanted a library in my home. I mean, mine would be filled with comic books and books about horses, but hey, that’s just me. My apartment’s only got one bedroom, though.”</p><p>His eyes widened as she threw the hangers out of his closet, making a mess of his wardrobe. He complained, “Those are organized by a very specific color and fabric-texture code!”</p><p>Lou held up one of his sweaters and frowned. She said, “Girlfriend rule number one is to steal your boyfriend’s clothes. But you’re so skinny.” She spotted a hoodie folded neatly on the shelf and grabbed it. She held it up. “Finally! Something that’s clearly oversized for you. This must be from undergrad. You told me you went to Cornell, right?”</p><p>“You remember that?” he asked as he held the sweaters he had picked up from the floor.</p><p>“Yes,” she replied while looking around his room. She spotted the presents stacked on his dresser. “Gifts! Okay, a box for you to pretend to give me. And a box for me to pretend to give you,” she said as she stacked two boxes in her arms. </p><p>She moved toward the door, but Ravi blocked her. He crossed his arms and said, “Lou, you need to tell me what’s going on. Normally it’s my siblings disregarding my privacy and digging through my stuff, not my neighbor.”</p><p>Lou’s brain finally caught up with the rest of her. Her face heated with embarrassment as the last few moments of her rummaging through Ravi’s house like a crazy person flashed in her mind. She exhaled and lowered her arms, careful not to drop everything she had collected.</p><p>“My parents are coming over for dinner in…” She glanced at the clock on his wall and said, “...five minutes.”</p><p>He nodded but still didn’t understand. “Yes, you told me that you’re spending Christmas Eve together. But what does that have to do with all this?”</p><p>“Ravi, my parents think I’m a loveless loser,” she confessed. </p><p>Her heart sank and she gently placed all her collected items into his arms. He quickly gathered them before they fell.</p><p>“And they’re right,” she said in a sad and quiet tone. She stepped around him and left the room.</p><p>“Why would they think that?” Ravi asked as he quickly followed behind her.</p><p>She was too ashamed to answer him, so she kept walking towards his front door. </p><p>“Lou, stop!” he shouted, causing her to freeze and slowly turn toward him.</p><p>He placed the hoodie, gifts, and pictures in a pile on the floor. “Tell me what’s going on… please?” he asked with care in his voice and concern in his eyes.</p><p>“I don’t have a boyfriend,” she said with a resigned shrug. </p><p>“Really?” Ravi asked excitedly. He cleared his throat and forced his voice to be neutral. “That’s unexpected. You seem like the type of person that would definitely be unavailable for courtship.”</p><p>“Courtship?” Lou repeated with a hint of laughter in her voice that had been missing since she barged into his apartment.</p><p>“Dating,” he said, rolling his eyes but smiling. He said in a more serious tone, “So, you don’t have a boyfriend and that’s a problem for your parents?”<br/>Lou gripped her elbow and broke eye-contact with him. She said, “The problem is that I was so embarrassed that they assumed that I didn’t have a boyfriend, that I lied and said I do have a boyfriend. Now they expect to meet him…”</p><p>“Oh, I see now,” Ravi said as his confusion finally faded. “Did you tell them that I was your boyfriend?” </p><p>Lou looked at him like a deer caught in headlights. “No, not at all,” she stammered. “I didn’t say who it was! I just said I had one. And everyone I know is busy, but then I remembered that you’re alone for Christmas Eve and I hoped you’d...help me?”</p><p>She winced at her words. She hoped that she hadn’t offended him by implying that he was her last resort. Even though he was. She wondered if he’d kick her out of his apartment and never speak to her again because she was rude and crazy.</p><p>He rocked on his heels and looked up at the ceiling for a moment. He stopped shuffling around and sighed before saying, “Should I bring something to dinner?”</p><p>Lou’s heart stopped. She stumbled over her words, “You’ll do it?”</p><p>“What are neighbors for?” he grinned at her.</p><p>She couldn’t stop herself from throwing her arms around him and hugging him tight. “I can’t believe you’re not calling the cops on me!” she cheered.</p><p>“We better hurry if your parents will be here soon,” he said as he kept his arms at his sides. “I also better bring gifts for them. And remove the name tags.”</p><p>She let go of him and said, “You don’t have to give them anything. We’re just pretending for a few hours.”</p><p>He scoffed, “I am not the kind of guy to meet his girlfriend’s parents without a gift on Christmas Eve.”</p><p>She watched him walk away to collect more gifts. Her heart was working again and its tempo had increased as the thought of snuggling with him once again crossed her mind. She shook her head and collected the stuff she had gathered earlier.</p><p>“I’m going to take this stuff to my place,” she shouted. “Just walk in whenever you’re ready!”</p><p> </p><p>________________________________________<br/> <br/>Shortly after Ravi walked into Lou’s apartment and set presents under her miniature Christmas tree, her parents arrived. He wasn’t at all surprised by how cheerful and loud they were. He imagined the people that raised Lou had to be boisterous and colorful based off his short interactions with her. </p><p>Soon they were all at the small dining table by the window savoring the elaborate meal that Lou had prepared. Ravi was impressed by all the food she had made in the few hours between when they’d talked in the hallway that morning to when she barged into his apartment that evening. He glanced over at her as her father said something to make her laugh. Ravi smiled to himself as he enjoyed the sound of her laughter. He felt Mrs. Hockhauser’s gaze on him and when he turned to look at her, she winked at him and chuckled. He felt his face heat with embarrassment over being caught staring at the woman’s daughter.</p><p>“You’d make your Grammy proud with this mac and cheese,” her mother said as she waved her spoon over the noodles.</p><p>“I just remembered her recipe. ‘Enough cheese to stop your heart’,” Lou joked.</p><p>“Yes, everything is delicious, Lou,” Ravi said. “You are quite the chef.”</p><p>“Oh, I don’t know about ‘chef’,” she replied and as an afterthought she added, “Sweetie.”</p><p>“Oh, don’t be modest, sweetie,” he said with more ease than she had. She smiled at him and he felt butterflies in his stomach.</p><p>“So, how did the two of you meet?” Mr. Hockhauser asked before shoveling roasted potato into his mouth.</p><p>“Um,” they both said as they gave each other a wide-eyed look. They hadn’t had time to prepare a backstory. He had literally arrived a few minutes before her parents did.</p><p>“Dear, they’re neighbors,” Lou’s mom answered as she sliced off a piece of baked chicken. “I didn’t realize when Lou Lou said there was a good-looking guy next door that she had intended to make him her boyfriend.”</p><p>Ravi raised his eyebrows at Lou. He asked, “And was I the good-looking guy next door?”</p><p>“Yeah,” Lou murmured shyly into her glass of tea.</p><p>Internally, Ravi did a happy dance. Yes, the situation he was currently in was odd, but he decided that it had already been proven worth it now that he’s learned that Lou finds him attractive. And it wasn’t the first time that he’s been someone’s fake boyfriend or lied to someone’s parents. When he was a sophomore in college, he pretended to be Divya’s boyfriend at sporting events so guys wouldn’t hit on her. When he was a junior in high school, he told Tiara Smith’s parents that she was going with him to the homecoming dance when really Tiara was going to a college party with her older boyfriend. Girls had always trusted Ravi as a loyal friend that they could depend on for help and that their parents would love. However, he hadn’t expected to be in this situation as an adult.</p><p>“Well, tell us more. How’d you meet?” Mr. Hockhauser asked again as he added cranberry sauce to his plate.</p><p>“Ravi introduced himself when I first moved into the building,” Lou spoke up. She looked over at him and smiled, “He warned me how slow the elevator was and he actually helped me unload the moving van.”</p><p>“My arms were sore for a week,” Ravi replied as he added steamed carrots to his plate.</p><p>“How? I carried most of the heavy stuff!” Lou laughed at the memory.</p><p>“And then he asked you on a date?” Mrs. Hockhauser asked. “You didn’t tell me that part of the story! Ravi, I asked Lou how her move was and all she said was ‘great.’ Don’t you think she could’ve mentioned a nice, young man asking her on a date?”</p><p>“I didn’t,” Ravi replied honestly. He felt Lou kick his ankle under the table. He winced and amended, “Yet! I didn’t, yet. I mean not on that day. She moved in last year. I asked her on a date this year.”</p><p>“That’s right,” Lou said with a smile. She leaned her shoulder into his and said to her mom, “And it was great and now we’re dating. The end.”</p><p>Ravi watched as her parents seemed happy with Lou’s answer. He quietly exhaled through his nostrils and took a bite of his carrots. He thought about that move-in day. He remembered her being funny and talkative. He had wanted to ask her out for coffee when they’d finished moving in all of her things. She seemed awesome. But he chickened out and continued chickening out until he decided it would be best not to ask.</p><p>“I should’ve asked, though,” he said absentmindedly. All eyes were on him when he realized his mistake. He stammered, “But what does it matter now that we’re an item?”</p><p>“Don’t dwell on the past, that’s what I always say,” Mr. Hockhauser said between chews.</p><p>“You dwell on the past all the time,” his wife said as she rolled her eyes.</p><p>Ravi chanced a look in Lou’s direction. They made eye contact and he felt his breath catch in his throat. </p><p>“So, what do you like to do, Ravi?” Mrs. Hockhauser asked as she poured tea into her empty glass.</p><p>“Well, I’m a researcher at the university and I also teach,” Ravi replied. </p><p>Mrs. Hockhauser gave him a bright smile and said, “Well isn’t that just the bee’s knees! You both teach! Oh, that’s great. Having things in common.”</p><p>Lou nodded and silently picked apart her dinner roll. She slathered some butter on it. </p><p>“We sure do,” Ravi agreed. “My students are college-age of course, but on the weekends, I volunteer at the youth community center. Some of Lou’s students are actually in my science workshop.”</p><p>“Every Monday I hear about ‘Mr. Ross’ from half my class,” Lou said good-naturedly as she settled her fork on her plate. “I keep telling myself that I’ve got to go see these science workshops for myself, but I don’t want to make you nervous,” she joked.</p><p>“I’m nervous about a lot of things, but I have full confidence in my science skills,” he replied with a smirk. “And you’re welcome at any time.” </p><p>“Careful, I might show up and embarrass you in front of a bunch of fifth graders,” Lou said as she stole one of his steamed carrots with her fork.</p><p>“Why don’t we ever flirt at the dinner table?” Mr. Hockhauser said to his wife. He slurped some gravy from his spoon.</p><p>“Because you drink gravy like it’s lemonade,” she laughed as she passed a Christmas-themed napkin to him.</p><p>Ravi wasn’t sure if he had meant to sound flirty or not. He glanced at Lou again, but she was focused on cutting her ham into bite-sized pieces. He wondered why Lou felt the need to pretend he was her boyfriend. Her parents seemed sweet. He was sure they’d be fine with her being single. They might be confused, though. He certainly was. How could someone like Lou have a difficult time finding a boyfriend? It had shocked him when he heard the sorrow in her voice when she confessed to not having one in his apartment earlier. For the past year, he had figured that her relationship status had been a choice. Surely there had to be a number of guys vying for the chance to date her. But if for some perplexing reason there weren’t, he figured she should know that there should be.</p><p>He leaned over to her and whispered, “You look beautiful. That’s a nice dress.”</p><p>She grinned at him and her eyes shined. “Thanks,” she whispered back.<br/>________________________________________<br/> <br/>After dinner they went over to the couch and armchairs near Lou’s electric fireplace. The apartment was warm and still smelled like tasty food. Ravi sat on the cushy couch. Mr. Hockhauser had settled into an armchair and crossed his feet at the ankle. Across from him, Mrs. Hockhauser relaxed in the other armchair and admired the fireplace.</p><p>“Welp, time to watch the game,” Lou said as she sat on the couch beside Ravi. She used the remote to turn on the tv above the mantle and explained to him, “It’s a tradition.”</p><p>“Cool… sports,” he said flatly.</p><p>Lou frowned. She didn’t know that he didn’t like sports. She loved sports. He must have seen the disappointment on her face because he put on a smile.</p><p>“But you like sports and I like you, so yay sports!” he cheered.</p><p>She gave him a small smile and tried not to roll her eyes. She was happy that he’d been committed to his role of loving boyfriend. He was polite during dinner and had even made her parents laugh a few times. He had complimented her cooking and her dress. She wondered why it was that he was single.</p><p>“I don’t want to watch the game either,” Mrs. Hockhauser said from the armchair closest to the fireplace. She lifted her tote bag from beside the chair and dug around until she pulled out a paperback book. “I saw in a magazine how some families sit by the fire and read on Christmas Eve. It seemed so cozy. Why don’t we all pick a book to read?”</p><p>“No,” Mr. Hockhauser scoffed. “I don’t want to read nothing. I want to watch football.” He wiggled his hand for Lou to pass him the remote.</p><p>“I’m with Pa on this one,” Lou said as she handed him the remote. “Christmas Eve is for football, basketball, or highlights from championship games from back in the day. Not reading.” She nodded toward Ravi and added, “This one might be on your side, though. He has a library in his apartment.”</p><p>“I thought you said my library was cool?” He said with a hurt expression.</p><p>She thought he looked cute pouting, so she couldn’t help it when she put her hand on his arm and batted her eyelashes at him. “It’s not cooler than football,” she said. </p><p>“And is football cooler than me?” he asked, no longer pouting.</p><p>“Not at all,” she grinned with her hand still on his arm. </p><p>Suddenly she remembered her parents were still in the living room. She wanted them to think he was her boyfriend and that she wasn’t a failure at love, but she didn’t want to shamelessly flirt in front of them. She quickly let go of Ravi’s arm. She looked over at her father, but he was already laser-focused on the basketball game. She looked over at her mother, but she had wrapped herself in the throw blanket that was on the back of the armchair and was reading her book. She looked over at Ravi beside her, but his eyes were searching the title of the book in her mother’s hands.</p><p>“Is that Misty Mistletoe’s Kiss Me by the Fire series?” Ravi asked with enthusiasm.</p><p>Mrs. Hockhauser gasped and shifted her attention to Ravi. “It is! This one’s her latest book. It is so good!”</p><p>Lou raised her eyebrow at him and asked, “You read those trashy holiday romance books?”</p><p>She heard her father chuckle but then he turned the volume up on the tv.</p><p>“They are not trashy! And there’s nothing wrong with holiday romance,” Ravi asserted. He gazed into her eyes and said, “I think this time of year can be very romantic.”</p><p>Lou was speechless. She didn’t have the willpower to break his gaze, so she gave into the swooning effect that he had on her. She decided then that fake boyfriend or not, as soon as her parents left, she was asking Ravi out on a date. If he didn’t like her, then at least she could say she tried. </p><p>She managed to keep her response from being breathless as she said, “Those books are garbage,” in a matter-of-fact tone.</p><p>Ravi chuckled and looked away.</p><p>Mrs. Hockhauser lazily stood up from the armchair, pulling her blanket along. She said, “Well, I don’t think a hunky baker with a dark past is garbage. Ravi, care to join me by the window? I’ve got the whole series in my bag.”</p><p>“Do you mind?” he asked Lou, gently placing his hand over her hand.</p><p>“Nope,” she squeaked as her hand burned beneath his touch. “Knock yourself out.”</p><p>He hopped up from the couch and took the tote that Mrs. Hockhauser handed him. He said, “We should have hot chocolate and another slice of that scrumptious cake.”</p><p>“I like the way you think,” Mrs. Hockhauser smiled as she linked her arm with his.</p><p>She watched Ravi and her mother walk over to the window and smiled to herself. Her attention shifted when her father moved from the armchair to sit beside her on the couch. She leaned her head on her father’s shoulder as they watched the football game.</p><p>“He seems different,” Mr. Hockhauser said quietly with his eyes on the television. “Kinda weird.”</p><p>Lou frowned, unsure of what her father had meant. She hummed in response and stiffly watched the football being kicked across the field.</p><p>“But you’re weird too.”</p><p>“Pa!”</p><p>“Well, you are, Lou,” he said with a laugh. He yawned and relaxed into the couch. “I’m happy you two can be weird together. I’m happy for you,” he said as he drifted off to sleep.<br/>________________________________________<br/> <br/>It was after midnight by the time her parents were standing outside Lou’s door bundled up in their winter jackets. Mrs. Hockhauser was wearing the expensive scarf that Ravi had gifted her and Mr. Hockhauser had his boxed gift of razors tucked under his arm and a Tupperware container of cakes and baked treats in his hands. The hallway’s lights were bright above them and the faint sound of music from the elevator could be heard.</p><p>“Ma, are you sure you’re comfortable taking a Lyft this late?” Lou asked as she hugged her mom tight.</p><p>“I’d be more than happy to drive you back to your Airbnb,” Ravi offered as he shook Mr. Hockhauser’s hand.</p><p>“We’re fine,” Mrs. Hockhauser assured them as she squeezed Lou in another hug. “We know how to be fancy city people.” She let go of her daughter and clung to her husband’s arm. “Merry Christmas, baby. And nice meeting you, Ravi. Next time we meet I hope you’re actually dating my daughter.”</p><p>Dumbstruck, Lou and Ravi widened their eyes at Mrs. Hockhauser. Lou stumbled over her words and Ravi kept opening and shutting his mouth without being able to say anything. </p><p>“Save it,” Mr. Hockhauser said as he waved off Lou’s ramblings. “Don’t you think your Ma and Pa know you better than that?”</p><p>“Seriously, Lou,” Mrs. Hockhauser said. “You magically had a boyfriend that you’ve never mentioned on the day we come over for dinner and you didn’t think we’d know something was up?”</p><p>Lou sighed. She looked at her parents with sad eyes. She asked in a quiet voice, “Are you upset?”</p><p>Her parents laughed and leaned in to each other. Lou gave them a confused look. She glanced over at Ravi, but he looked as confused as she was and shrugged.</p><p>“Just don’t lie to your parents, baby,” Mrs. Hockhauser said. “You’d think by now you’d know that. For goodness sake, you’re an adult!” She smiled at Ravi and added, “You must really like my daughter to go along with all this.”</p><p>Ravi smiled bashfully and said, “Lou’s always so helpful. All of our neighbors know they can depend on her when they need help. So, I was honored to assist her. I do apologize for lying to you, though. You’re both great.”</p><p>Mrs. Hockhauser turned to Lou. She said, “I really like him, Lou Lou.” </p><p>With that said, she and her husband waved them goodbye and strolled down the hallway. Lou could hear her mother humming a tune, “All I Want for Christmas.” Once she watched them turn the corner she exhaled and leaned against her doorframe.</p><p>Lou facepalmed. “I can’t believe they knew you weren’t my boyfriend that entire time!”</p><p>Ravi chuckled as he walked over to his own apartment door. He leaned against the handle and said, “At least they were sweet for not immediately calling us out for it. I don’t think I could’ve handled the embarrassment.”</p><p>“You embarrassed? I’m the one begging my neighbor to pretend to date me,” she giggled. </p><p>It was a contagious giggle that made him laugh too. Soon the laughter faded and they stood in the hallway quietly listening to the music in the distance. Lou remembered the decision that she had made earlier: that she would ask him out on a date.</p><p>“Thanks for helping me out,” she said. “Even though we fooled no one.”</p><p>“No problem. I had fun! Your parents really are great. And your cooking is amazing.” He nervously crossed his arms and looked down at the hallway floor. “You made a potentially lonely Christmas Eve into a remarkable evening.” He lifted his eyes and gazed at her, “Thank you.”</p><p>Lou’s heart cartwheeled in her chest. She gave him a goofy grin. “You’re welcome.”</p><p>“Goodnight,” he said before turning to unlock his door.</p><p>“Wait!” Lou shouted as she leaned away from her doorframe.</p><p>He turned around and raised his eyebrows at her. He asked, “Something wrong?”</p><p>“No… um…” She folded her hands behind her back and said, “I thought maybe you’d want your Cornell hoodie back...”</p><p>He snapped his fingers and said, “I almost forgot about that. It is one of my favorites. I’ll wait here while you get it.”</p><p>“Oh,” Lou said with a voice full of disappointment.<br/>Her disappointment made him immediately concerned. He asked quickly, “Did I say something wrong? You can keep the sweater if you like it that much. I can get another one.”</p><p>She sighed. She could feel her face and heart on fire. He really didn’t get it. “I want you to get back in here and get your own hoodie… and maybe have hot chocolate and cookies… and watch a movie.”</p><p>He blinked at her. A second passed before he gasped and smiled, “Like a date! You want to have a date with me!”</p><p>Lou chuckled and looked up at the hallway ceiling. “Wow, you’re making this so awkward,” she complained.</p><p>“Our date is starting at almost one in the morning on Christmas Day. I think it’s reasonable to be awkward,” he said in a good-natured tone. He locked the door to his apartment and then took the five-step journey to her door. “I think I should let you know that I only watch Hallmark, documentary, and horror movies.”</p><p>“If you can find Bill Murray in any of those then deal,” Lou said as they walked into her home with all they wanted for Christmas.</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. A Christmas Carol</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was mid-December and the perfect weather for lounging around the house watching Christmas movies. Lou was snuggled on one end of the couch in a fluffy blanket and fuzzy socks. Her eyes were locked on the extra-sappy and sweet scene on the screen. On the other end of the couch, her mom was wrapped in an oversized-sweater that was complete with pompoms and sewn on lights. Mrs. Hockhauser sipped from her mug of hot chocolate, which was more of a cold chocolate by then. Between the two of them was Lou’s older brother, who had his Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer slippers kicked up on the coffee table between two emptied mugs.</p><p>“This movie’s stupid,” Billy, Lou’s brother complained as he grabbed a handful of homemade kettle corn from the bowl in his lap.</p><p>Lou rolled her eyes and replied, “You’ve said that about every movie we’ve watched so far.”</p><p>“Cause it’s true,” Billy said between munches. Crumbs fell onto his flannel shirt.</p><p>“Ew, you eat like Pignelope.”</p><p>“Bacon doesn’t need a name, Lou,” Billy replied with more crumbs falling from his chin.</p><p>“You take that back!”</p><p>“Shh! Hush up, you two!” Mrs. Hockhauser shushed them as she waved her hand in their direction while keeping her eyes on the television. “They’re about to kiss!”</p><p>“Gross,” Billy mumbled, but he kept his eyes on the couple and the corner of his lip turned upward for the beginnings of a smile.</p><p>“Cute,” Lou cooed as she watched the couple embrace. It was the third romantic holiday movie she had watched that day, but her reaction was still a goofy smile and a passing thought of the person she always tried hardest not to think about.</p><p>Heavy footsteps approached the back of the couch, and Lou looked up to see her father dusted with snow. Two of her younger brothers, who were also sprinkled with frost, ran up the stairs.</p><p>“Y’all still watching movies?” Mr. Hockhauser asked as he squinted at the screen. “Billy, what done happened?”</p><p>“Same ‘ol,” Billy replied in a bored tone as he grabbed more popcorn.</p><p>“Something more than that,” Mr. Hockhauser encouraged as he ruffled Billy’s messy hair.</p><p>“Aww, tell him, Billy,” Mrs. Hockhauser said as she nudged her son’s shoulder and smiled.</p><p>Lou knew why her parents wanted Billy to talk. They got that way every year around Christmas because that’s when the incident with Hank had happened. When Billy was ten years old and Lou was eight, her dog bit off part of Billy’s tongue on Christmas Eve. Hank had been a large, rough-housing pup when it had happened. Billy had to undergo surgery and would go through periods of time without much talking. Now, years later, Billy was no longer a kid and Hank had passed away last year.</p><p>“Just tell um about the movie so we can watch the next one,” Lou demanded as she grabbed the bowl of kettle corn from his hands, making some popped kernels fall onto the couch.</p><p>“Naw, we’re not watching another one of these mushy movies,” Billy argued as he snatched the bowl back from her. More kernels fell. “We’re watching Die Hard.” </p><p>“No way! It’s old and it’s not even a Christmas movie.” Lou took a handful of popcorn and tossed it at her brother. “We’re watching Last Christmas.”</p><p>Billy caught some of the kernels in his palm and tossed them back at her. “Why do we have to watch these lovey dovey movies cause you’re lonelier than a barn owl in winter?”</p><p>Lou glared at her brother. She wanted to argue back that she wasn’t lonely and that she didn’t want her life to be like the cheesy movies they were watching, but she couldn’t get the words out.</p><p>“I thought she had that boyfriend at camp?” Mr. Hockhauser said and Lou’s eyes widened. “You know, that boy she’s always talking about. The one who’s Emma’s brother.” </p><p>“Ravi, dear,” Mrs. Hockhauser said.</p><p>“Yep, that’s him,” her husband nodded.</p><p>“Ravi,” Billy said in a teasing tone as he wiggled his eyebrows at Lou.</p><p>Lou felt her face heat up. She tossed another handful of popcorn at her brother and said in as calm a voice as she could muster, “He’s not my boyfriend.”</p><p>Mr. Hockhauser ignored his daughter’s comment and laughed, “So is no one gonna tell me about the movie?”</p><p>Billy sighed dramatically and explained, “Some gal was in love with some dude and she wrote him a letter or something and then he reads it and they kiss. Oh yeah, and there was a Christmas tree.” </p><p>“It was so romantic,” Lou said above a whisper. An image of the postcard on her desk upstairs flashed in her mind, making her heart do a backflip. She quickly squashed the thought.</p><p>Mr. Hockhauser hummed and said, “Welp, I need a nap.”</p><p>Billy got up from the couch and said, “I need a sandwich.” He strolled toward the kitchen. </p><p>“I want a sandwich!” Lou called over her shoulder.</p><p>“Yeah, yeah,” Billy hollered back.</p><p>Mrs. Hockhauser offered her nearly empty mug to her husband, who accepted it and gave her a kiss on the forehead. He smiled at his daughter and then walked out of the living room. Lou kicked off her fuzzy blanket and then started collecting the popcorn kernels she had spilled.</p><p>“That sure was a cute movie, huh, Lou Lou,” Mrs. Hockhauser said as she plucked a few kernels from the couch cushions. </p><p>“Yup.”</p><p>“It seemed familiar though...didn’t it?”</p><p>Lou glanced at her mother, who was giving her a suspicious look. Lou was sure she knew where this was going. She propped the bowl on the table and dumped the collected kernels into an empty hot chocolate mug without answering her mom.</p><p>“We watched it the other night when your aunt came over,” Mrs. Hockhauser said with an overly dramatic nod. “It was your pick that night. And you picked it again today.”</p><p>Lou remained calm on the outside, although she was freaking out on the inside. She shrugged as she sank back into the couch cushions. “It’s a cute movie about the mail. Who doesn’t like the mail? And Christmas letters? What’s taking Billy so long with that sandwich?”</p><p>Mrs. Hockhauser tapped her chin and leaned into the opposite end of the couch. She hummed and said, “Didn’t I see you with a postcard yesterday?”</p><p>Lou felt her face heat up again. She had purchased the extra item at the market yesterday, but she hadn’t thought that her mom had noticed the postcard. </p><p>“The woman in that movie wrote a letter to a special someone. Maybe you are gonna write a letter to a special someone?” Mrs. Hockhauser continued to push the subject, ignoring the embarrassment on her daughter’s face. “A someone named Ravi?”</p><p>“What was that, Billy!” Lou shouted, hoping up from the couch. “I think he needs my help,” she said to her mom before rushing out of the living room.</p><p>When Lou got to the kitchen she plopped down at the round table and settled her forehead on a plaid placemat. There were crayons and paper all over the table. Her youngest brother sat across from her working on a drawing. Billy carried over three plates with ham and cheese sandwiches.</p><p>Lou lifted her head and picked up her sandwich to break it in half. She looked at the clutter on the table as she bit into her lunch. Her eyes widened when they landed on a postcard near a pack of washable markers. She reached for it, but Billy had spotted it too and picked it up before she could.</p><p>“A postcard?” he said as he flipped it around. He asked his brother, “You make this?”</p><p>Their little brother shook his head no and continued his drawing of a penguin dragging a baseball bat. Lou plucked the postcard from Billy’s hand and stood up from the table.</p><p>“It’s mine. Thanks for the sandwich,” Lou said quickly. She collected her plate and almost made it out of the kitchen. Almost.</p><p>“Oh! That’s why you keeping watching that movie,” Billy loudly said. He smirked. “You’re gonna write a love note to that guy.”</p><p>“Ravi Ross!” her youngest brother squealed and made kissy faces in her direction. “She talks to him on the phone!”</p><p>Lou wanted to sink into the kitchen floor. She argued, “I’m not writing anyone a love note. That’s sillier than a moose in a clown costume!”</p><p>“You are!” Billy laughed. He turned to their little brother and added, “She is!”</p><p>“I’m not! And I don’t like Ravi! He’s just my friend.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “And aren’t you a little old to be picking on me, Billy?”</p><p>“We’ll be eighty and I’m still gonna pick on you.”</p><p>Lou rolled her eyes and left the kitchen. She went straight to her room, making sure to shut the door behind her. She balanced her plate on a stack of comic books on her desk and sat down with the postcard in her hand. It had a snowman holding up mistletoe with his twig arms and the snowflakes that fell around him were shaped like hearts. When she saw it at the market yesterday, the Christmas movie she had watched with her mom and aunt had popped into her mind immediately. She couldn’t stop herself from buying it. But she knew there was no way she’d ever send it to Ravi. She couldn’t even admit to herself that she…</p><p>Her door sprang open and her younger brothers ran into the room. Her mom stuck her head around the corner and smiled, saying, “It’s flag football time!”</p><p>Flag football in the snow had been a Hockhauser family tradition for as long as she could remember. All of her relatives from around town would gather at her parents’ farm and they would split up into two teams and play. It was supposed to be no-contact flag football, but it’d inevitably end up turning into a tackle game because everyone in her family was super competitive.</p><p>Lou rounded up her brothers and made sure everyone had on their coats, mittens, and hats. They ran out to the field behind the barn and met up with all her relatives. Her uncle already had a grill set up and the air smelled like grilled meat. Some of her cousins were stringing lights on the fence and loudly singing Christmas carols.</p><p>Lou was named captain of her team and strategically made her picks for players. Billy was captain of the other team. As always, it started off fun and silly and then escalated into an intense competition with the elderly adults shouting insults from the sidelines and the younger children laughing at all the chaos. Lou’s team was ahead by several points and she made sure to remind her older brother every time she ran past him. </p><p>“Prepare to lose, Basement Boy,” Lou taunted her brother as they got in position to start the next play.</p><p>“Hey, you know I’m only in the basement until my idea with toilet paper takes off!” Billy scoffed. He smirked and said, “Make sure you tell your boyfriend how badly you lost in this game when you write your little love note.”</p><p>“Ooo, is it Ravi? She’s always talking about him!” one of Lou’s cousins commented, standing in a defense position on the field.</p><p>Lou narrowed her eyes at Billy. She said, “The doctors should’ve sewn your mouth shut instead of sewing your tongue back on.”</p><p>“The doctors fixed my talking, but who’s gonna fix you being a chicken?”</p><p>“That’s it! You’re going down.”</p><p>There was a clash of relatives as the game resumed. Flags flew in the air and bodies hit the snow. Lou tried to focus on rushing through the cold December air with the football tucked in her arms, but a nagging feeling in her gut had her distracted. Why did everyone think she wanted to date Ravi? She refused to let anyone, including herself, think that she liked Ravi or that he liked her. She needed to rip up that postcard. She needed to bury whatever feeling had made her buy it in the first place. She needed to pay attention to the game.</p><p>But it was too late. She had been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed Billy barreling toward her. Her breath caught in her throat as he tackled her. Both of her feet were airborne before she landed on her back in the snow. </p><p>________________________________________<br/> <br/>Lou’s eyes fluttered open to a view of her ceiling fan. She groaned as she twisted in her bed. Groggily, she scooted her sore back up against her headboard and looked around the room. Her stuffed woodchuck was on the dresser and her dirty laundry was in a pile by the closet. She wondered why there were no younger brothers digging through her desk supplies or her tool box.</p><p>“Boys!” she called out. She waited for giggling and the sound of feet rushing down the hallway but her call was only met with silence. </p><p>She glanced down at her clothes. Her winter coat had been removed and tossed onto the back of the chair by her desk. She was now wearing flannel pajamas instead of her outdoor gear.</p><p>“Ma!” she called out. </p><p>She crawled to the end of her bed and looked out the window. The night sky was grey. She leaned back on her heels and shouted, “Pa!”</p><p>Everything seemed too quiet to be December at the Hockhauser house. There should be screaming kids and laughing cousins and blaring televisions. She climbed out of bed and went to stand in front of the opened door of her bedroom.</p><p>“Y’all here?” she shouted from the doorway.</p><p>“I’m here.”</p><p>Startled by the sound of an unfamiliar voice, Lou spun around and shrieked. Standing in the middle of her room was a faceless figure with a torso made of bright light. She sped out into the hallway and slammed the door shut behind her. </p><p>“What in the Sam Hill!” </p><p>Her back was pressed against the wall, which was colder than she’d ever remembered it being. It felt like being inside a freezer. She stared with wide eyes at the closed door. Her breaths were short and loud as they echoed in the dimly lit hallway. Beads of sweat made her hair stick to her forehead.</p><p>Knock knock knock.</p><p>Lou’s stomach dropped to her toes at the sound of the three knocks on her door. She clenched her fists and asked in a shaky voice, “Who is it?” She shut her eyes and grimaced. She whispered to herself, “Am I seriously asking that?”</p><p>“Lou, you can come back in here.”</p><p>Lou unclenched her fists. Confusion clouded her face as she took a step away from the wall. The voice was different this time. It sounded familiar. But it wasn’t a voice she was used to hearing in the middle of winter. Lou cautiously stepped forward. Her heart pounded as she gripped the handle to the door. Slowly she opened it and stepped inside. There, standing in the middle of her bedroom, was Tiffany in a frilly, gold dress that sparkled like Christmas lights.</p><p>“Tiffany?” Lou asked with her voice full of disbelief. “What? What are you doing here? What’s going on?”</p><p>“Sorry! I didn’t mean to freak you out earlier. I forgot to change into something a little less ethereal. Is this better? I feel pretty like this.”</p><p>Lou snatched Mr. Woodchuck from her dresser and held it up like a weapon. “Who are you!” she demanded.</p><p>“Right, formal introductions. Hello, I’m a soulmate spirit. There’s no translation for my name in your human language, which by the way is so limiting. I don’t know how you deal.”</p><p>“A what?”</p><p>“A. Soulmate. Spirit.”</p><p>Lou continued to clutch the woodchuck weapon. “Why do you look and sound like Tiffany?”</p><p>“To keep you from freaking out. Or trying to keep you from freaking out. Look, put down the stuffed rodent. We don’t have a lot of time before the next soulmate spirit shows up.”</p><p>Lou’s shoulders were still tense, but she lowered the woodchuck slightly. She glanced at her mirror to make sure the person in front of her also showed up. Her disheveled reflection was there along with Spirit Tiffany’s. She turned back and questioned, “What in the bumbling bee is a soulmate spirit?”</p><p>“We’re the unsung cosmic heroes that make sure the stars born of true love are formed in the universe!” Spirit Tiffany said with pride.</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>Spirit Tiffany sighed and explained, “We make sure soulmates don’t make stupid mistakes that risk them losing each other. If soulmates don’t end up together then certain stars in the universe don’t form.”</p><p>“That definitely doesn’t sound like something that Tiffany would say,” Lou mumbled. </p><p>“Look, I’m a soulmate spirit of the past, so I show up first. Next is a soulmate spirit of the present and then a soulmate spirit of the future. And all three are going to visit you tonight.”</p><p>Lou lowered and hugged Mr. Woodchuck to her chest. “Great, my stupid brother made me clonk my head and now I’m in A Christmas Carol?” She frowned. “And I’m Ebenezer Scrooge in all this? Are the ghosts mad that I was about to win another family football game? I’d let him win, but it’s just too dang fun winning!” </p><p>Spirit Tiffany facepalmed. “Are you not listening? I told you: I’m a soulmate spirit. This has nothing to do with your silly football game. We’re talking about your happiness. Also, do not call me a ghost. I never died therefore I’m not a ghost.”</p><p>“My bad,” Lou apologized, loosening her grip on Mr. Woodchuck. “And you mentioned my happiness?”</p><p>Spirit Tiffany walked over to Lou’s desk and flipped through a book. She said, “This is our busiest season of the year. Humans make a bunch of dumb mistakes during Christmastime.”</p><p>“I’d be more offended if I wasn’t still freaked out,” Lou said as she watched Spirit Tiffany rummage through her stuff.</p><p>“Well, it’s true. And it can end up costing people their soulmates. Which means no stars which means a less than perfect universe and who wants that?” Spirit Tiffany picked up the postcard on the desk and held it up. “That’s why soulmate spirits exist. Our job is to keep you on the right path to your soulmate. So, like I said, tonight you’ll be visited by three soulmate spirits. We will show you the past, the present, and the future in order to persuade you to send this postcard to Ravi.”</p><p>Mr. Woodchuck hit the carpet with a thud when he dropped from Lou’s arms. Her stare was wide and her mouth gaped. Spirit Tiffany hopped off the desk and waved her arms in front of Lou.</p><p>“Hello! Anyone home in there? Oh no! Did I break this one too?” She gasped.</p><p>Lou stammered, “This is crazy.”</p><p>Spirit Tiffany let out a breath of relief. “Okay, good. You’re still with me. This doesn’t have to be difficult, you know. All you have to do is admit your true feelings for him; admit that he has feelings for you; and be willing to send the postcard. Easy! Soulmates united and true love prevails.”</p><p>The dumbstruck look was erased from Lou’s face and she narrowed her eyes at Tiffany. She huffed, “Ravi and I are not soulmates or true love or anything.”</p><p>“So, not easy,” Spirit Tiffany sighed. She tossed the postcard onto the desk. “To the past it is.”</p><p>“I’m not going anywhere but downstairs for a cup of cocoa,” Lou said with an attitude. “And maybe a sandwich.”</p><p>She marched out of her room and into the hallway. Except her hallway was no longer her hallway. The air was warm and smelled like overgrown grass.</p><p>“What in the…” Lou muttered.</p><p>She spun around in the center of the Great Lawn at Camp Kikiwaka. The camp flag waved in the breeze on the flagpole. Campers tossed a ball back and forth by the picnic table. Counselors carried fishing poles and chatted as they walked past. Spirit Tiffany appeared beside Lou looking unbothered by the change. </p><p>“Welcome to the Camp Kikiwaka of your past! So, do you want to go ahead and admit that you have feelings for Ravi or do we have to go through a whole thing?”</p><p>Lou stopped looking around the Great Lawn to glare at Spirit Tiffany. She folded her arms and said, “I don’t have feelings for…” She nervously glanced around at all the campers. She shuffled closer to Spirit Tiffany and whispered, “... that person you wrongly think is my soulmate.”</p><p>Spirit Tiffany sighed and waved for Lou to follow her. She explained, “No one can hear or see you.”</p><p>“Really? Am I a ghost too?” Lou asked as she followed closely behind. “Or spirit thing? Whatever you called yourself.”</p><p>“You’re not a ghost because you’re not dead. But if you keep annoying me or call me a ghost again then I can change that,” Spirit Tiffany warned. She walked through a camper as if he were air.</p><p>Lou scrunched her nose and replied, “Shesh. You’re snappy like Tiffany.”</p><p>“Then Tiffany must be a delight. And I’m happy to appear in her image.”</p><p>Lou rolled her eyes. She followed Spirit Tiffany around the lake. There were a bunch of empty row boats pulled up to the dock and a couple of abandoned fishing poles on the shore. As they continued walking, some campers sauntered by wearing fishing hats and carrying bait.</p><p>“If this is the past… then we are when?” Lou asked.</p><p>Spirit Tiffany didn’t answer. She continued down a path between some trees until they reached the quietest part of the lake. Lou gasped. In front of her, sitting at the edge of the lake, were herself and Ravi. It had been four days since the last time she had seen him during a video chat, so her heart couldn’t help but smile at the sight of him. She squashed the feeling immediately. </p><p>“Two years ago. This is the day that you finally caught Big Whiskers,” Spirit Tiffany said. She smirked at Lou and added, “And you started catching feelings.”</p><p>“Did not,” Lou muttered as she walked closer to herself and Ravi at the edge of the lake.</p><p>“Sorry that we didn’t win,” Lou said as she looked over at Ravi beside her. They had just walked over to their fishing spot after Gladys announced that there was no winner of the competition because Zuri and Tiffany had cheated. </p><p>Tossing a pebble into the lake, he sighed. “It’s okay. You were right to let Big Whiskers go,” he said of the gigantic catfish they had captured and released. He smiled at her and added, “Besides. I had a lot of fun with you today. Thanks for asking me to be your fishing partner.”</p><p>“No problem,” Lou grinned. “I had fun too.”</p><p>Ravi picked up another pebble and looked down at it. “Uh, if you don’t mind me asking...why did you want to be my fishing partner?”</p><p>Lou wiggled her fishing boots as her feet dangled over the grassy ledge. She watched a bird fly over the water. “I like hanging out with you.”</p><p>He looked up at her and asked, “You do?”</p><p>“Yeah,” Lou laughed. “Don’t look so surprised.”</p><p>“Sorry, I’m not used to hearing that from girls that I’m not related to. Or even the ones that I am related to.”</p><p>“You’re exaggerating,” Lou chuckled.</p><p>“Only slightly,” he said with a shrug. “And I like hanging out with you too. But you’re not surprised by that. Everyone likes you.”</p><p>“I’ve got a feeling we’re gonna be friends for a really long time, Ravi.”</p><p>“Me too,” he replied with a smile. “So… I assume you go fishing often in your hometown?”</p><p>Lou nodded. “Oh, yeah, the Hockhausers are all about their fishing, football, and farming.”</p><p>“I’m unfamiliar with all of those activities,” Ravi admitted as he flipped the pebble over in his hand. “But perhaps we could do those things this summer? You did an excellent job showing me how to fish today.”</p><p>“Except for the part when I went nuts and ate a bunch of flies unnecessarily?”</p><p>“I don’t think that’ll be a problem with football,” Ravi chuckled. His face turned serious and he asked, “At least I don’t think so.”</p><p>Lou rolled her eyes, but she smiled. </p><p>He glanced at the time on his watch. “We better get back to the mess hall.” Lou agreed and they both stood. He held out the pebble in his hand and said, “Here. You should keep this as a reminder of the day you finally caught Big Whiskers. I know he was important to you.”</p><p>Her fingertips brushed against his as she took the pebble from his hand. Her face heated up and she smiled at him. “Thanks, Ravi.”</p><p>Lou watched her past-self and past-Ravi walk back toward camp. She thought she had remembered everything about that day, but she hadn’t realized that her face had lit up over the memento he had given her. She still kept that pebble in a jewelry box in her room.</p><p>“You see it. Don’t you?” Spirit Tiffany said with a knowing look. “He gave you some random rock off the ground and then boom. Heart eyes.”</p><p>“I did not give him heart eyes,” Lou spluttered. She tugged on the long-sleeve of her pajamas and looked up at the blue sky. “I just appreciated the gesture...from one friend to another friend.”</p><p>“Really,” Spirit Tiffany said flatly. She moved closer along the grassy ledge and motioned for Lou to follow. “So, you won’t admit that this is the day your crush started?”</p><p>“There’s nothing to admit because there is no crush,” Lou said stubbornly.</p><p>“Fibber!”</p><p>Lou yelped as Spirit Tiffany shoved her over the ledge. Lou braced herself for the splash and rush of water up her nose, but it never came. Instead, she landed softly in the wildflower field behind the Camp Kikiwaka library. </p><p>“Was that really necessary?” she looked up and asked Spirit Tiffany.</p><p>Spirit Tiffany shrugged. She was still in her frilly, golden dress, but now she was also wearing a crown of wildflowers. </p><p>Lou looked around the field. She spotted the past-versions of herself and Ravi among the flowers. She stood up and dusted off her flannel pajamas. “Why are we watching me pick flowers?” she asked. </p><p>“This is the day you go from crushing on him to being crazy about him,” Spirit Tiffany explained as they walked closer to the past-version of Lou. </p><p>“I don’t...there’s no…” Lou stammered with embarrassment. She fiddled with her hair and wouldn’t make eye-contact with Spirit Tiffany.</p><p>“Uh, huh. Just watch…”</p><p>Lou plucked a long stem with tiny, purple petals along it from the ground. “So, you feel bad about your terrible advice?” She asked without looking at Ravi beside her.</p><p>Ravi added a yellow flower to the bundle in his hand. He responded, “My advice was superb. I can’t help it if Emma has no appreciation of fine art.”</p><p>It was the day after the gift exchange between CITs and counselors. Lou and Emma had gone against their better judgement and followed Ravi’s advice on what gifts to get each other. He had suggested that Emma give Lou a wild animal, which did not turn out well for Emma. It had escaped before she could even gift it to Lou. And Ravi had suggested that Lou give Emma an arts performance. </p><p>“That dance was terrible, Ravi! I mean, it was fun. But even I know it was horrible and I’ve never even seen an interpretive dance performance in my life!” She plucked another flower from the ground. “And after that I never want to.”</p><p>“What? You were breathtaking, Lou! Not as good as your choreographer of course, but I’ve been doing performance art for years.”</p><p>“Course you have,” Lou said flatly. She inspected the bundle in her hand. She was going to need a lot of wildflowers to make the perfume she had decided to make as another attempt at a gift to give Emma.</p><p>He handed her the bundle of flowers in his own hands and said, “You were beautiful and your performance was inspiring.”</p><p>“I was?” she asked and stared at him blankly. “I thought I looked stupid.”</p><p>“Not to me,” he said. He stared back at her. A bee buzzed by in the colorful field of wildflowers. Ravi blinked and then turned away to resume picking flowers. He said, “Emma has no taste. Which is why we must suffer through picking flowers for your perfume.”</p><p>Lou let out a breath that she didn’t realize she had been holding. She took a few steps away from him and plucked another flower from the ground. She said, “You don’t have to help.”</p><p>“I don’t mind. I enjoy your company and it’s way better than the alternative. Jorge had chili for breakfast and is currently butt blasting our cabin.”</p><p>Lou chuckled and searched the grass for the basket she had abandoned earlier. She spotted it by a patch of pink flowers. “Hey, since I tried your interpretive dance thing, you should go to a pig race with me,” she said as she packed the basket with flowers.</p><p>“You’re kidding,” Ravi said flatly as he shooed away an insect. </p><p>“There’s a pig race in town next weekend. I might be able to get Gladys to let me take a couple of campers for a field trip. I could use your help as a CIT.”</p><p>Ravi sighed and collected more flowers. “I suppose if you truly believe pig races are cultured then I may as well experience it for myself.”</p><p>“You’re going to love it!”</p><p>“I doubt it,” he replied. He looked away from her, focusing on the flowers. “Plus, it’s not like I’m going to turn down an opportunity to spend time with you.”</p><p>Lou’s felt her face heat up at his words. She looked at him longingly as he continued to collect flowers for her perfume. Her heart beat faster and the world looked more colorful than before.</p><p>“You actually stand there staring at him for like a full minute,” Spirit Tiffany said. “Explain to me how this isn’t proof that you know he’s the one for you?”</p><p>Lou watched the past-version of Ravi pick flowers. She said quietly, “He’s a nice guy. And he always seems to have time for me… even when it’s stuff I know he has no interest in.” She chuckled and said to Spirit Tiffany. “He hated that pig race. He even fell in the mud and whined about it for a week. But he still offered to go with me again.”</p><p>“Great, now you’re staring at him too,” Spirit Tiffany said flatly. She snapped her fingers in Lou’s face. “Earth to Lou! Are you ready to admit your feelings?”</p><p>Lou blinked and turned her attention to Spirit Tiffany. She hunched her shoulders and said, “Okay, maybe I have… a strong appreciation for him.”</p><p>“No, Lou!”</p><p>“What’s wrong with that?”</p><p>“You have to tell the truth! You have to admit how much you care about him so that you’ll send him the postcard telling him how you feel and you don’t lose your soulmate!”</p><p>Lou cringed at the word: soulmate. It was too much and too scary. Besides Xander, Ravi was the only guy that she wasn’t related to that she cared strongly about. Ravi was her friend like Xander was her friend. Except that she didn’t have to struggle to not think about Xander all of the time.</p><p>“I am telling the truth,” Lou said sternly. “I just think of Ravi as a friend.” She plopped down in the wildflower field. She laid back and frowned at the blue sky. She shut her eyes. “Take me home, Spirit Tiffany.”</p><p>“Not until you open your eyes, Lou,” Spirit Tiffany said.</p><p>Lou opened her eyes. Blue sky no longer stretched above her. She lifted her head from the mess hall table and sat up. There were Christmas decorations all over the Camp Kikiwaka mess hall. </p><p>“This isn’t my room,” Lou pouted.</p><p>“No, we’re still in the past,” Spirit Tiffany said from the table across from her. “And this one calls for some mood music.” She stood up to reveal a golden violin. She began to play a beautiful melody.</p><p>Lou unhooked an ornament from the massive tree in the mess hall. It was shaped like an angel and glistened with gold glitter. She dropped it into the large box between her and Ravi. “When done good today,” she said in a cheerful tone.</p><p>“Yes, we showed Griff the joys of Christmas and made a lot of other kids happy, too,” Ravi replied. He dropped the handful of plastic candy canes that he had collected from the tree into the box. “As always, we make a fantastic team!”</p><p>“You know it!” She said, raising her hand for a high-five.</p><p>Their hands clapped and they both laughed. Ravi asked, “Do you remember what we were doing last year around this time?”</p><p>“Well, this is my first Christmas in July, so I don’t think we were unloading all these ornaments from a tree,” Lou said. She glanced around the empty mess hall. “How’d we get stuck being the only ones for clean-up duty?”</p><p>Ravi unhooked an ornament shaped like a manger from the tree and said, “Because we’re the only ones that can actually clean.”</p><p>“True. So, what were we doing last year?”</p><p>“Picking flowers for your perfume,” Ravi answered cheerfully. “I hadn’t made a perfume before. It was like a science project!”</p><p>“Oh, yeah! I remember that,” Lou replied, nodding her head. </p><p>She looked at his bright eyes and then quickly shifted her gaze to the tree. She worked on untangling a bow from its branches as she reprimanded herself for nearly getting lost in his eyes again. Normally she would have an excuse for when he caught her doing so, but there would be no reason for her to be staring at him when they were supposed to be packing away decorations. </p><p>“See, we always make a great team,” he said as he dropped more ornaments into the box.</p><p>Lou hummed in response. She hadn’t forgotten last year. She never forgot anything they did together. But she didn’t allow herself to dwell on why that was or admit that to him.</p><p>“Oh, look!” Ravi exclaimed suddenly.</p><p>Lou looked up to the object he was pointing at in the tree. It was higher up than the ornaments they were working on. Her breath caught in her throat once she saw the bundle of mistletoe in the branches.</p><p>“Mistletoe!” Ravi cheered. </p><p>He kissed her so quickly that she was almost sure that it hadn’t happened. She would’ve been convinced that it had been her imagination if her face wasn’t on fire from his kiss on her cheek. She chanced at look at him, but his attention had already returned to packing away the decorations. She glanced up at the mistletoe. Her pulse raced at the thought of him kissing her again. She was afraid he’d hear how loudly her heart was beating, so she turned to leave. </p><p>Spirit Tiffany lowered her violin and said, “Too bad you forgot that other box was there.”</p><p>Lou and Spirit Tiffany watched the past-version of herself trip over a box of lights. The past-version of Ravi rushed over to help her, but she untangled herself from the lights, made up an excuse, and rushed out of the mess hall.</p><p>“And the evidence shows that your transformation was completed,” Spirit Tiffany said. “You can tell this is the point where you realize the truth about your feelings because you run away. The thing is… you keep running. Why?”</p><p>Lou groaned and knocked her forehead against the wooden table of the mess hall. When she lifted her head, she was at the desk in her bedroom. She lifted her gaze to the collage of pictures on the wall by her desk. Many of them were photos of her and her friends at Camp Kikiwaka over the years. More than a few of them included her standing undeniably close to Ravi and beaming. Slowly, Lou turned in her chair to see Spirit Tiffany sitting on the edge of the bed. </p><p>“I’m scared,” Lou admitted. </p><p>“Of what?”</p><p>“Of what having feelings for him means!” Lou stood from her seat and paced in front of the desk. “I’ve never liked anyone this much in this way before. So, you want me to admit it? Fine! I like him! He’s the sugar to my lemonade. The butter to my biscuit. The everything to my everything!”</p><p>Lou winced at her own outburst. She had finally admitted out loud what she had been so afraid to think about. She said in a quiet tone, “You’re right. I think he’s the one for me.” She frowned and her eyes were glossy. “But that doesn’t mean he thinks I’m the one for him. Thanks for helping me be honest with myself. But you’ve got the rest of this wrong. He doesn’t feel the same way about me. We’re not soulmates.”</p><p>Spirit Tiffany stood up and crossed her arms. “I’m not here for a pity party, I’m here to keep you from making a mistake that will cost you your happiness! You have to send him that postcard.”</p><p>“No way!” Lou looked at Spirit Tiffany as if she were crazy. “I’m never telling him how I feel. Do you know how embarrassing that would be? And awkward? He’s such a good friend that he’d feel guilty for not liking me back.”</p><p>Spirit Tiffany shook her head and said in a frustrated tone, “Humans are so stupid! You just have to make everything difficult. He’s your soulmate, Lou. Write that you like him on the dumb postcard so we can all move on with our lives! I’ve got twenty more cases and it’s Friday!”</p><p>“We’re not soulmates! And just because I like him it doesn’t mean that he likes me. We’ve known each other for years and not once has he said anything about liking me,” Lou argued.</p><p>“That’s not true.”</p><p>The new voice startled Lou. She turned to see Zuri seated at the desk behind her. She wore gold as well, but instead of a frilly dress she wore a gold romper. </p><p>“Zuri?” Lou asked in shock.</p><p>“Good, you’re here,” Spirit Tiffany said. She pointed her thumb at Lou. “You’ve got your work cut out for you with this one. She’s way more stubborn than our last case. And that lady was a defense lawyer!”</p><p>Spirit Zuri stood up from the desk and shook her head at Lou. She said, “It’s always the innocent looking ones that cause the most trouble. Alright, I’ve got it from here Past.”</p><p>“See ya,” Spirit Tiffany said and was gone in the blink of an eye.________________________________________</p><p> <br/>“I don’t think she liked me much,” Lou said as she went to sit where Spirit Tiffany had once sat on the edge of the bed.</p><p>“Don’t take it personally,” Spirit Zuri said. “She hates everyone who gets in the way of her job. And since our job is keeping you on track…” She took an object that looked like a cell phone out of her pocket and scrolled through it. “Let’s see…past, present, future...admit you like him… admit he likes you… send a postcard to lover boy.” She tucked her phone away. “Alright, let’s get this over with.”</p><p>“Spirit Tiffany already took me to the past and bummed me out,” Lou said as she rolled over onto the bed. She wrapped her blanket around herself and said, “Ravi doesn’t have romantic feelings for me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to watch Netflix Christmas romances until my personal A Christmas Carol is over.”</p><p>“No, we’re not doing this,” Spirit Zuri said as she yanked the blanket away from Lou.</p><p>“Hey!”</p><p>“I’m the soulmate spirit of the present, so we’re going to the present.”</p><p>Lou sat up on the bed with her hair all over the place. She asked, “Isn’t this the present?”</p><p>“When I say present, it’s more like a range. We’re talking about events within the year,” Spirit Zuri explained. She made a motion over Lou’s head. “You might want to fix that before we go, though.”</p><p>Lou pouted and ran her fingers through her messy hair. She climbed out of bed and walked over to her mirror to brush her hair. “What could you possibly show me that will prove I’m wrong about Ravi not having feelings for me?” </p><p>“I guess I’ll be showing you how clueless you are,” Spirit Zuri said matter-of-factly. </p><p>When Lou put down her brush and turned around, her bed was no longer behind her. She stood in front of Woodchuck cabin. The sky was orange from the setting sun. Spirit Zuri was beside her, tapping away on her cell phone.</p><p>“Are soulmate spirits supposed to be on their cell phones?” Lou asked, raising both eyebrows at Spirit Zuri.</p><p>Spirit Zuri looked up at Lou with a blank expression. She said, “Cell phone? Do not compare those overrated calculators you and your human buddies use to my sophisticated device.”</p><p>“Sophisticated device? Ooo, let me see,” Lou said as she reached for Spirit Zuri’s device. </p><p>Spirit Zuri smacked Lou’s hand and pointed her finger toward the cabin. She said, “You need to see that. Pay attention! This is the first day of camp this summer.”</p><p>Ravi paced the porch outside of Woodchuck cabin. He muttered to himself, “Don’t be weird.” He stopped in front of the closed door and hovered his fist in front of it. “Just knock on the door…”</p><p>Several seconds passed by as he stood frozen in front of the door. Finally, he let out a breath through his nostrils and knocked. He took a step back and waited. When the door opened, his eyes lit up and he gave the greeter a goofy grin.</p><p>“Hey, Ravi,” Lou greeted him. She leaned against the doorframe and smiled at him. “What’s up?” She glanced around the lawn to see if anything was out of place. “Is something wrong? It’s almost time for lights out.”</p><p>“Nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to say hello,” Ravi said with a bit of nervousness in his voice. He tried to look casual and lean to the side, but he stumbled a bit.</p><p>Lou looked confused but said, “Oh… hi.”</p><p>“You were so busy with everyone else earlier that I didn’t get a chance to say hi. And it’s our first day back at camp, so I wanted to say hi. So, hi.” He gave her an awkward wave.</p><p>She waved back at him. She no longer looked confused as she smiled at him. They stood there in silence as the world continued around them. Some campers were rushing to their cabins for lights out. Fireflies were starting to blink around the bushes. Behind Lou, the woodchucks were chatting about their first day back.</p><p>“Okay, bye,” he said suddenly.</p><p>He turned away before Lou could wave goodbye.</p><p>“Wow,” Spirit Zuri said as she shook her head. “That was almost painful to watch.”</p><p>“Nothing happened,” Lou said as she watched herself stare longingly from the porch. “Except me looking like a lovesick puppy. Dang, was I really that obvious?”</p><p>“You’re kidding, right?” Spirit Zuri said flatly. She interlocked her fingers and tucked them under her chin as she batted her eyelashes. “Hi. Hi. Awkward. Awkward. Okay, bye!” She said in a mocking tone. She chuckled, “That whole interaction screamed two idiots in love.”</p><p>“It did not,” Lou scoffed. She shuffled her feet and murmured, “I only saw one idiot.”</p><p>“No, there’s definitely two,” Spirit Zuri said as she walked along the grassy path that led away from the cabins. “Think about it, Lou. The guy shows up at your door just to say hi for no reason?”</p><p>Lou fought back a smile. She cleared her throat and shrugged, “He’s my friend. Everyone was excited to be back at camp and say hello to their pals.”</p><p>“So, you’re not going to admit that he wants to be your more than pal?”</p><p>“More than pals,” Lou repeated. </p><p>She felt the flutter of butterflies in her stomach at the thought of him wanting to be more than just her friend. But she shooed them away. It was already challenging enough to admit to her own feelings. She didn’t think she could handle him having feelings for her too. Besides, she felt it was doubtful that he liked her the way she liked him. </p><p>“Stop imagining it and make it happen,” Spirit Zuri said. She stepped over a fallen branch. “Send him that postcard. Write that you’re perfect for each other. Make this easier for all of us.”</p><p>“I’m not imagining anything,” Lou said as she looked up at the sky. Instead of getting darker with the night, it was getting brighter as if the sun was rising. “What makes you think I even want him to like me back?” </p><p>“Wow, you really are stubborn.”</p><p>“Am not. All I’m saying is… there are worse things than me keeping my feelings to myself. We’re fine the way we are now.” The words had the texture of a lie and left a bad taste in her mouth.</p><p>“Are you?” Spirit Zuri asked. She stopped walking, having reached their destination. Daylight filled the forest. “This is the last day of camp this summer. Take a look at the Spot.”</p><p>Griff walked up to the picnic blanket set up at the Spot. There sat Ravi with a bouquet of wildflowers in his hand. There was a tray of frosted cupcakes beside him. He was dressed up more than usual.</p><p>“This is sad. You actually planned a date for yourself?” Griff asked as he plopped down on the blanket. </p><p>“No,” Ravi sighed. He added, “Though there’s nothing wrong with planning a nice day for yourself. I take a spa day every month and treat myself to an exquisite artisan cheese platter.”</p><p>Griff gave him a blank look. He said, “You’re so weird.” </p><p>Ravi rolled his eyes but didn’t reply. He frowned down at the bouquet and began picking petals off the flowers.</p><p>Griff swiped a cupcake and bit into the vanilla frosting. “If it’s not for you, then what’s all this stuff for, dude?” He asked between munches.</p><p>“Lou,” Ravi replied automatically. His eyes widened at his mistake. “I mean, um…” he stammered.</p><p>Griff raised an eyebrow at Ravi and said, “You already said her name. You can’t back out now. Plus, it’s like super obvious that you like her.”</p><p>Ravi sighed again. His shoulders sagged and he tossed the flowers over his shoulder. “Guess not to her,” he said. He handed Griff a napkin. “You’ve got frosting on your nose.”</p><p>Griff took the napkin and said, “Why don’t you just tell her, ‘Hey, come to my girly picnic cause I have a massive crush on you and I stare at your face when you don’t think I’m looking.’”</p><p>“Interesting wording,” Ravi replied flatly. He sighed. “I asked her to join me for a surprise at the Spot but she hasn’t shown up yet. I don’t think she will. Maybe this was a mistake…” Ravi grabbed a cupcake and bit into it, getting frosting on his own nose. “She’d never go out with me.”</p><p>Griff took the tray of cupcakes and moved them away from Ravi. He said, “Maybe I should take these. Emotions and sugar don’t mix.”</p><p>“Give me that tray!” Ravi demanded as he sprung forward for the treats.</p><p>Lou stood frozen. Happiness in its purest form made her heart beat wildly in her chest. She whispered, “He did all of this… for me?”</p><p>“And you ditched him,” Spirit Zuri said as she held a cupcake in her hand. She bit into the frosting and hummed, “Strawberry!”</p><p>“I didn’t ditch him. I just didn’t know! And I was so busy getting everything ready for the end of summer.” Lou watched Griff run away with the tray of cupcakes. Ravi continued to pout on the picnic blanket. “He got all dressed up. He’s so cute.”</p><p>“Ew, don’t tell me that,” Spirit Zuri said as she continued to munch on the cupcake. “Tell him. He’s your soulmate. And he needs to be told. Look at the poor guy. He’s pitiful.”</p><p>Everything she heard Ravi tell Griff should’ve convinced Lou that he had feelings for her. But there was still something inside of her that wouldn’t accept it.</p><p> “It’s Ravi. He’d plan a date for anyone willing to go out with him,” Lou said. She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth. There was a sour feeling in the pit of her stomach and an ache in her heart. She hadn’t meant what she said.</p><p>“Harsh,” Spirit Zuri said as she gave Lou a look. “You’ve got some real issues to work through, huh?”</p><p>“Can I just go home now,” Lou grumbled as she stared down at the forest floor.</p><p>“That’s not how this works. You have to admit that he likes you too.” Spirit Zuri grabbed a napkin from her pocket and wiped the frosting from her face.  “And trust me. I won’t this to be over just as much as you do. I have a party to get back to.”</p><p>“Party?” </p><p>“Supernatural beings like to have fun too,” Spirit Zuri said. “I collected the stardust from a soulmate star that allows you to open a pocket dimension where it rains ice cream. Can you say best party ever?”</p><p>“That thing Spirit Tiffany said was true? Soulmates ending up together creates stars?” </p><p>Spirit Zuri replied, “The key part of that is that they have to end up together…” </p><p>She nodded in the direction that she wanted Lou to look. They were no longer at the Spot. They were inside the Ross penthouse. </p><p>“This is the present. This is Ravi right now,” Spirit Zuri said.  </p><p>Ravi sat in the home theater wrapped up in a blanket and staring at the screen. There was a kettle of tea on the floor and chocolate wrappers were everywhere. The lights were dimmed and Christmas lights blinked along the walls. Luke walked into the room and shook his head.</p><p>“Dude, you’re still moping around watching these lame Christmas movies?”</p><p>Ravi snuggled into the blanket and frowned. He replied, “They’re not ‘lame.’ They’re lies. Romance is as fictional as Santa Claus.”</p><p>Luke rolled his eyes and dropped down in the recliner beside Ravi’s. He said, “There are other girls, Ravi. Get yourself together, dude.”</p><p>“I don’t want other girls,” he whined. He tipped over in the recliner so that his head landed on the armrest. “I only want one.”</p><p>Luke lifted his brother by the shoulders and shook him. “Snap out of it!”</p><p>Ravi swatted Luke’s hands away. “Go away!”</p><p>Luke yanked his brother out of the recliner. They wrestled until Luke had Ravi trapped in a headlock. He shouted, “Lou isn’t into you! You’re friends. That’s all! Now let’s go out and have fun and find a different girl for you to obsess over.” He let his brother free and asked in a calmer tone, “Better?”</p><p>Ravi slouched on the ground and yelled, “No! You’re terrible at this. Go get Emma!”</p><p>“No way. She’ll feel all guilty because her best friend broke your heart. Does she even know how you feel about Lou?”</p><p>“Everyone knows how I feel about Lou,” Ravi said as he grabbed the blanket from the recliner and cocooned himself again.</p><p>Luke gave his brother a sympathetic look. He sat down beside him and said gently, “Ravi, you have to let her go.”</p><p>“Lou, you have to send the postcard. If he lets you go then that’s it. You lose each other forever and there will always be something slightly off with the universe because you’re not together,” Spirit Zuri said.</p><p>Lou looked at Ravi slouched on the floor. The sadness in his eyes made her heart break. She knelt down beside him and reached out to touch his face. Her hand went through him as if he were air.</p><p>“Are you going to let that happen?” Spirit Zuri asked.</p><p>“Look at him,” Lou said in a quiet tone. “He looks so sad…”</p><p>Lou could see it in his eyes. He really did care about her. She couldn’t deny it anymore. But she realized the thing that was stopping her from admitting that she had feelings for him and that he had feelings for her was fear. Fear that she had never been in love before. Fear that he wouldn’t love her back. </p><p>“I admit it. Ravi has feelings for me… He really does like me as much as I like him,” Lou confessed in a sorrowful voice.</p><p>Spirit Zuri frowned. “That isn’t the face of someone about to write a love note. That’s the face of someone about to say something…”</p><p>“I can’t send him that postcard. If I tell him how I feel then he will want to be together. But what if it doesn’t work out, Spirit Zuri? He’s my friend and I’d never want to hurt him.”</p><p>The fear that Lou felt now was a fear of hurting someone she cared about. If Ravi looked this distraught without them being together, what would it be like if they broke up? She didn’t want to be responsible for his heart. She was too afraid of breaking it. She’d much rather break her own and be without him.</p><p>“That’s the face of someone about to say something stupid,” Spirit Zuri continued. She gave an exasperated sigh and shouted, “I give up! This one’s too dumb!”</p><p>“Wait one rooster crowing minute,” Lou fussed as she stood up from the carpet. “How’s it dumb to care about his feelings?”</p><p>“His feelings are that he wants to be your boyfriend. Stop making this more complicated than it has to be,” Spirit Zuri said in frustration. She chucked her cell-phone-like device at Lou.</p><p>Lou ducked with her eyes shut. When she opened them, she and Spirit Zuri were back in her bedroom. Lou sighed and flopped face down on her bed. She screamed into her pillow.</p><p>“I want to scream too,” Spirit Zuri snapped as she crossed her arms and flopped down on the end of the bed. “I’m missing an ice cream snowball fight for this dumpster fire.” </p><p>Lou lifted her face from her pillow and glared at Spirit Zuri. “No one invited you to my dumpster fire! You and your little otherworldly pal started snooping around and unburying my feelings and ruining my December!” </p><p>Spirit Zuri yanked the pillow from Lou’s arms and hit her with it. “Send the postcard!”</p><p>“Ow!”</p><p>“Whoa! What’s going on here!” a voice shouted above Lou’s yelp of pain.</p><p>Lou turned her attention to the doorway of her bedroom. Standing in a gold cropped top and shimmering pants was Emma. Without thinking, Lou sprang up from her bed and ran over to the newest guest. She wrapped her arms around her and hugged her tight.</p><p>“I know you’re not her,” Lou said, “But I could really use a hug from Emma right now.”</p><p>Spirit Emma glanced down at Lou and then looked over at Spirit Zuri. Spirit Zuri rolled her eyes and shook her head.</p><p>“She’s a lot,” Spirit Zuri mouthed to the soulmate spirit of the future.</p><p>Spirit Emma nodded and watched Spirit Zuri disappear. <br/>________________________________________<br/> <br/>Spirit Emma gave Lou a moment before tapping her on the shoulder and asking, “Do you want to talk about why I’m here?”</p><p>Lou exhaled and let go of Spirit Emma. The two of them walked over to her desk. Lou sat in the chair and handed Spirit Emma the postcard.</p><p>“The snowman with the mistletoe is so cute,” Spirit Emma cooed. “He would love this! He loves getting mail.”</p><p>“I know,” Lou said in a small voice. “I think that’s part of the reason why I wanted to send him a postcard.”</p><p>“And the other part?”</p><p>Lou’s eyes watered as she looked up at Spirit Emma. “This is all because of some stupid movie I watched. There was this lady and she had been in love with her friend for so long until she couldn’t help but confess her feelings. So, she sent him a letter, saying how she felt, and he actually ended up feeling the same way. Oh yeah, and it was Christmas.”</p><p>Spirit Emma placed her hand on Lou’s shoulder and gave her a sympathetic smile. “And you wanted to be that lady for Ravi this Christmas?”</p><p>“I can’t,” Lou whispered. “It’s too… I don’t know. Risky? And I didn’t even think about how the real you would feel about all of this.”</p><p>“Lou, I’m the soulmate spirit of the future. I know it feels risky taking a chance on love, but you’re risking so much more if you don’t send that postcard.”</p><p>Lou picked up the postcard and grimaced at it. “I really hate that I bought this. Why is this so important? It’s just a postcard with a silly picture...I mean, it’s a cute snowman and I love the heart snowflakes… But it’s just a postcard. It doesn’t lead anyone to their soulmate or make stars or anything else. It’s paper.”</p><p>“Paper?” Spirit Emma motioned for Lou to stand up. “Come with me.”</p><p>Lou linked her arm with Spirit Emma’s and followed her out the door. Again, Lou wasn’t in the hallway outside her bedroom but instead inside a room she didn’t recognize. The walls were covered in an ugly wallpaper. Frames were scattered on the wall with pictures of frowning faces. A frail Christmas tree stood barely decorated in the corner. Seated on a couch by the window was a woman that looked like an older version of Lou.</p><p>“Is that me?” Lou asked.</p><p>“Yep. But with much worse hair,” Spirit Emma answered. “And frown lines. Yesh, and you’re only in your forties here.”</p><p>Lou unhooked her arm from Spirit Emma’s and walked closer to her future self. She sat on the opposite end of the couch and stared at the woman. Future Lou wore a faded A line dress with long sleeves and her hair was in a messy knot. Her eyes looked tired and sad. </p><p>“Why do I look so awful?” Lou asked Spirit Emma.</p><p>Suddenly a door opened. Cold air and snow drifted in with a muscled man as he walked into the room. He wore a faded flannel and carried an axe on his shoulder. His beard was bushy and so were his eyebrows. Behind him walked in six school-aged children dusted with snow. </p><p>“Ma!” one of the little boys squealed happily at the sight of Lou. </p><p>For a moment, the woman’s eyes lit up and the corner of her lips turned upward to a smile. But the muscled man shouted at the little boy and Lou frowned.</p><p>“Children only speak when spoken to,” the man said gruffly.</p><p>“Yes, papa,” all six children droned obediently. </p><p>Lou stood up stiffly from the couch. She kept her hands folded in front of her as she said, “Children can speak whenever they want.”</p><p>Her husband narrowed his eyes at her. He said roughly, “Children are for doing chores and following orders. Now, go wash up for supper.”</p><p>Lou watched her children march off to the bathrooms. When she was sure they were out of earshot she grumbled at her husband, “Do you always have to act like there’s birchwood shoved up your bumhole?”</p><p>“Does this house always have to look like a pigsty when I get home?” He snapped back.</p><p>“I keep this house spotless and you know it,” she said through her teeth. “Maybe you ought to try and clean a dish or pick up your own dirty laundry once in a while.”</p><p>“That's a woman's work,” he snorted. As he placed the axe on the ground. “It’s not like I see you chopping wood.”</p><p>Lou picked up the axe with ease and balanced it on her shoulder. “I’ll have you know that I’ve skinned buck bigger than you, Rick.”</p><p>“So you say,” Rick replied, rolling his eyes. “And yet you’re here teaching our kids to be wimps and back talkers.”</p><p>Lou lowered the axe and scoffed, “We’re their parents, not their drill sergeants! They’re allowed to be happy to see us and speak without being spoken to first. And making sure they know how to read isn’t making them ‘wimps.’ They should have a choice about what they want their futures to be.”</p><p>“I always knew you weren’t actually old fashioned. You’re no better than that city girl you yammer on the phone with. I should’ve married Mary Ella May when I had the chance,” Rick said as took the axe and walked back out of the house.</p><p>“You’re not the only one with regrets, Rick!”</p><p>Lou watched the scene in horror. She gripped the edge of the wall and said, “This can’t be my life.”</p><p>“By not sending the postcard, you never start a relationship with Ravi. Instead, you struggle with your feelings for years until you decide to settle for the first guy that buys you coffee. You graduate college and come home to visit your mom when you meet Rick at a diner. He buys you coffee and talks about old-fashioned values. You ignore all the red flags because he’s got muscles and he couldn’t be any more opposite than who you’re really in love with, so you date him. Then you marry him. And then… this,” Spirit Emma explained. </p><p>“Wait,” Lou said as she let go of the wall and furrowed her brows. “I never get over Ravi?”</p><p>Spirit Emma linked her arm with Lou’s and walked her over to the frames on the wall. She pointed a well-manicured finger at a picture of Future Lou and Future Ravi with all of Lou’s children. </p><p>“This picture was taken two years ago. That was the last time Ravi was here. He used to visit you and your kids every year. But Rick’s jealousy finally reached a boiling point,” Spirit Emma said.</p><p>Lou searched the frames on the wall before settling her gaze on the picture that Spirit Emma had pointed out. She said, “It’s the only picture where I’m smiling. Heck, it’s the only picture where the kids are smiling. Are we all really that unhappy?”</p><p>“The soulmate spirits warned you, Lou. This isn’t just about stars forming or our jobs. Your happiness is at stake when you don’t end up with your soulmate.”</p><p>Lou looked over her shoulder at her future self. The woman was beside the frail Christmas tree. She picked an ornament off the tree and smiled down at it. It was a bundle of mistletoe. Lou quickly turned away. She ignored the stinging sensation in her eyes.</p><p>“Is it Christmastime?” Lou asked, trying her best to keep her voice from wavering. “Why’s the house look so… not Christmas?”</p><p>“Rick thinks Christmas is an overindulgence. You argued for days to get that sad little tree in here,” Spirit Emma said.</p><p>“I married someone who hates kids and Christmas?” Lou gasped.</p><p>“You’re not the only one,” Spirit Emma said as she walked out the front door and into the snow. </p><p>“Wait, what do you mean?” Lou asked as she rushed after Spirit Emma.</p><p>Flurries melted along the windows of the airplane. Lou sat beside Spirit Emma in a first-class seat on a small plane. She looked to her right and saw a man that looked like an older version of Ravi. Her heart skipped a beat.</p><p>“Good thing they can’t see us, cause you’re practically drooling,” Spirit Emma said with a smirk.</p><p>“Am not,” Lou muttered. She glanced at the woman beside Future Ravi and asked, “Who’s that?”</p><p>“That’s the reason why you should tell Ravi how you feel,” Spirit Emma replied.</p><p>Ravi munched on a cheddar square from the cheese plate he had ordered on the flight. </p><p>“Do you have to chew so loudly,” his wife scowled. “It’s bad enough that your breath is going to smell like cheese for the next three hours.”</p><p>“Sorry, dear,” Ravi said in monotone as he dropped the cheddar square to his plate. He covered the food with a plastic lid and sighed. “Guess I’ll eat in three hours.”</p><p>“Don’t be ridiculous. We won’t have time to eat. This jeweler is very exclusive and we must keep our appointment.”</p><p>“Must we, Aria? It’s Christmas. There’s got to be things more important to you than diamonds during this time of the year,” Ravi said. “Like love?”</p><p>“Love? Ravi, you know not to annoy me on long flights. Save your nonsense until we get to the resort. You can bore and blather to the wait staff.”</p><p>“Christmas isn’t about the resort, Aria. Isn’t there anything else you care about during this time of year?”</p><p>“I also like cash and getting a good deal on a winter foreclosure,” Aria said without a hint of sarcasm.</p><p>Ravi frowned. “I was thinking more along the lines of new traditions and family and cheer,” he explained. With each example his expression brightened. “I talked to the resort about having a Santa for the children this year.”</p><p>“Why? We don’t have any icky brats?”</p><p>“No... but other families do! And I think it will make the children there happy. “He smiled at her and excitedly asked, “What was your favorite memory of Christmas as a child?”</p><p>Aria gave him an annoyed look. “We’re not children, Ravi. If you’re going to ask trivial questions, I’d rather you shut your mouth with that odorous cheese.” She put in her earbuds and stared out the window.</p><p>Ravi couldn’t hide the hurt on his face. He slouched in his first-class seat and stared ahead. </p><p>“What a jerk,” Lou said angrily as she glared at Aria. Her eyes softened when they landed on the man beside her. “And poor Ravi. Why’d he marry someone so awful?”</p><p>Spirit Emma took a sip of sparkling water from a glass and sighed. “The postcard. You never sent it to Ravi. So, he never felt special by getting mail from his crush or learning that his feelings for you weren’t unrequited. He let Luke drag him from party to party all his adult life. He dated one trashy person after the other until he finally proposed to the first woman that hinted at a diamond ring.”</p><p>“That’s terrible,” Lou exclaimed. She reached out to hold Future Ravi’s hand, but it passed right through as if he were air. She turned back to Spirit Emma. “I don’t understand why he would settle for such a bad wife.”</p><p>“The same way you settled for such a bad husband. Lou, we keep telling you that you and Ravi are soulmates. It’s impossible for you to be truly happy without each other. Even if he didn’t marry Aria and you didn’t marry Rick, you two would live less than perfect lives without each other.”</p><p>“But what if I tell him how I feel and we don’t work out?” Lou asked as she slouched in her first-class seat. “Why do the movies make this look so easy?”</p><p>“Because it is easy, Lou! Look at Ravi’s face. Look! He’s miserable. All he wants to do is get on the next flight back to you and make you and your kids smile. Don’t you think that’s confusing for him? That deep down he knows that you’re the one for him. And the worst part is that he’s not wrong.”</p><p>Lou kept her gaze on him. He looked in her direction and time froze for her. She saw the same eyes that she always got lost in at Camp Kikiwaka. She saw the Ravi that went fishing with her and picked wildflowers with her and stopped by her cabin just to say hello. </p><p>“I’ll send the postcard,” Lou whispered. She quickly turned back to Spirit Emma and said with more confidence, “I’ll send the postcard!”<br/>________________________________________<br/> <br/>Lou’s eyes fluttered open to the grey sky above. Cold air filled her lungs. Her gaze shifted from one worried family member to another. Her mom breathed a sigh of relief and hugged Lou tight. Billy looked guilty as he hoisted her off the ground and helped her walk to the car that was already idling in the driveway. </p><p>She answered the doctor’s questions and followed their instructions in the emergency room as they checked for a concussion from the tackle. She assured her parents and aunts and uncles and cousins that she was fine. She let Billy coddle her without getting annoyed with him for treating her like a child. But through it all, she mostly thought of Ravi.</p><p>She didn’t get a moment of peace until two days later. </p><p>“Alright, everyone, listen up,” Lou said from the stairs. “I’ve got something important to do, so…”</p><p>“What was that, Lou?” her uncle shouted from in front of the television.</p><p>“I said,” Lou started again.</p><p>“Huh? What’d she say? Matthew, stop throwing the dang thing! Lou’s saying something,” her aunt shouted.</p><p>“I need to write a…”</p><p>“Honey! Where’s the cutting board? The one shaped like a reindeer? Honey!”</p><p>Lou folded her lips and shook her head. “Never mind,” she said to herself. She climbed the stairs to her bedroom and quietly shut the door. She sat down at her desk and grabbed a pen and the postcard. She smiled at the picture of the snowman holding the mistletoe with his twig arms and the snowflake hearts that fell around him.</p><p>“Here goes,” she said to herself.</p><p>Before the pen could touch the postcard, her door flung open. Billy, Mrs. Hockhauser, and Mr. Hockhauser all sauntered in and piled around her desk. Lou smiled to herself.</p><p>“I’ve got stamps,” Billy said as he tossed a sheet of stamps onto Lou’s desk. There were dinosaurs on them.</p><p>“I’ve got perfume,” Mrs. Hockhauser said as she spritzed some from the glass bottle. It smelled like roses. “Spray a little of this on the postcard and he’ll know things are serious.”</p><p>“I didn’t bring gifts. I’ll be moral support,” Mr. Hockhauser said.</p><p>Lou smiled at her family. “Thanks, guys.” She turned back to the postcard and said, “How do I say everything that I need to say on this tiny card?”<br/>________________________________________<br/> <br/>Lou couldn’t stomach another Christmas romance movie while she waited for a response to the postcard. Her days felt long and her nights felt longer as she waited for some sign that Ravi had received her message. Over and over again she saw the seven words that she wrote flash in her mind.</p><p>You’re my soulmate. Can I be yours?</p><p>On the fifth day after she sent the letter, she was snuggled on the couch and reading a comic book when her phone rang. His name was on the screen. Nervousness and fear gripped her and she almost let it go to voicemail. </p><p>“Um, hello,” she stammered into the phone.</p><p>This was the moment she had been waiting for all week. Her heart filled with hope and her hands shook slightly as she held the phone to her ear. This moment could change her life.</p><p>“You already were,” Ravi said. </p><p>Lou blinked, not understanding what he was saying. She was about to ask more questions, but his next words made her speechless.</p><p>“...My soulmate,” he said. “You already were my soulmate. I’ve been afraid that I wasn’t yours… that’s why I haven’t said anything. But, Lou, I like you so much. You’re… everything to me.”</p><p>Lou grinned as she gripped the phone to her ear. Everything was right in the universe. She knew no movie could compare to her real-life moment.</p>
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